SHLOCK!
The Man-eater's head rolled across the black soil and landed several feet away, steaming before evaporating into cinders. That was the fifth one I had cut down today. My breathing steadied as I wiped the sweat from my brow. It had been rough earlier, especially with my Miasma control fluctuating randomly, but after enough bodies fell I understood the rhythm of their movements. Lesser Man-eaters' movements were sluggish and easy to predict—at least for a Shade whose senses were sharper than theirs.
I wiped the evaporating blood off my cheek and glanced at Amaterasu. The blade carried itself like it had a personal vendetta against Man-eaters; its edge tore through their flesh with frightening ease, and even the dull side shattered claws and bones whenever I parried. Every clash felt as if the sword resented these monsters more than I did.
A distant shriek pierced through the trees, thin at first, then another followed, and another—until dozens of high-pitched cries echoed around us in a rising chorus. The air tightened.
'What was that?' I asked.
Eve didn't answer immediately. 'That's their distress cry,' she murmured, brows knitting. 'But that doesn't make sense. They shouldn't have sensed us. We're too far from them.'
'Maybe other Shades are here as well?' I guessed
'No. Impossible, the data I was given made no mention of any recent or current missions here by any Shade. Unless…'
'Unless what?' Lucy asked.
Eve's eyes widened for a second. 'Follow me. I have a very bad feeling about this.'
We followed her through the forest, vaulting over roots and ducking low branches. Leaves slapped my face as I forced more Miasma into my legs to keep pace. Then we heard it—gunfire.
It lasted for a couple of seconds, then silence fell. Eve and Lucy sped up, moving several miles instantly. I tried to keep up. I hadn't fully understood the basics of miasma, but I could use it to fight. With it I could ignite the air around my sword, making it faster, stronger and generally harder to deal with -- for Man-eaters at least. A move I dubbed "Hell Fire."
Screams ripped through the forest. We were getting closer but we might also be too late. Grenade explosions followed along with the cry of a Man-eater. Eve was the first to engage, a Man-eater was still regenerating from the blast when her dual daggers carved it cleanly in half from shoulder to hip. Eve conjured her chains, lashing forward and coiling around another Man-eater's head. The creature was holding a human soldier in its claws. Eve's chains constricted, tightening until bone snapped and its head was torn free. The soldier fell to the ground clutching his bleeding shoulder, freeing himself from the corpse.
He was wearing worn out body armor and military gear smeared with dirt and dried blood. He was bleeding pretty bad, instead of thanking us, he took out a whistle a blew on it.
Eve walked toward him, daggers still glowing.
'Who are you?' She demanded.
The man ignored her and pressed bandages to his wounds. She grabbed his shirt violently, lifting him with ease. 'Who are you? I wont ask again.'
The man chuckled. 'And what are you going to do if I don't tell you, huh? Are you gonna kill me like your king Grey did to the thousands of innocent people here? That's right I know who you are. I know your kind. You fucking alien motherfuckers.'
'Enough.' A man's voice called. He and a couple of men -- about six or seven of them -- came out from behind him all armored and armed with scavenged rifles.
'My name is Fred. The lad you have in your grasp is Benji. Me and my men are a part of a resistance group. We protect our people from the monsters and go out to get supplies.'
'And? What kind of supplies would bring you out at night into their stronghold… Wait a minute. How did you get in here?'
'Ho --'
Eve raised a finger. We sensed it, a group of Man-eaters approached us, they were silent this time, now that we were here, they could not attack carelessly.
She sliced Fred's arm lightly, just enough to draw blood. 'We'll talk later. Get your men out of here before you all die. Lucy—go with them. Keep them alive. The moment they're out of the forest, return immediately.'
Lucy nodded and sprinted after the retreating group.
'Get ready. Its going to get a lot harder from here.' Eve said to me.
The men had barely run a dozen meters when a Man-eater lunged from the shadows. I reacted instinctively—my sword flashed downward toward its neck. It dodged, but I reversed the blade's path immediately, igniting it with Miasma. The upward slash came faster than lightning.
This was Sasaki Kojiro's Swallow cut technique. The blade cleaved the monster cleanly, incinerating its head and torso in a plume of fire.
'Where did you learn that?' Eve asked impressed.
'Vanessa gave me a little gift to go with Ama.' I replied.
I was referring to a little black book full of swordsmanship techniques, training skills and stances. I wasn't sure I'd pull it off but Miasma has an amazing way of making the impossible possible.
The rest Man-eaters growled as if intimidated, but then they charged at us as if on command. About fourteen of them all at once. Eve didn't even wait for them to get close, she ran at them fearlessly. They weren't very strong but if they were smart they could over power us.
***
The last of the Man-eaters disintegrated at my feet. I had taken down six. Eve handled the rest with terrifying efficiency. She stood silently afterward, staring at her Moon Daggers with an unreadable expression. She was faster and stronger than me, but the gap was shrinking. I could feel it.
'Hey.' I said.
'What is it?'
'How come your Divine Ability is your Sacred Gear?'
She looked at me for a second before saying, 'I made a vow. Among the Shades, there a certain individuals who decide to bind their Sacred Gears to their soul.'
'But why? Did you not like your original Divine Ability?'
'I did. But after Mike died, I realized that Grey couldn't be killed in a normal fight. The only way to kill Grey is to poison him or assassinate him. My divine ability couldn't do either. But my Gear is suited for assassination. That's why I did it.'
'Does doing that not put you at a disadvantage. I mean, Lucy has her Divine Ability and Sacred Gear.'
'The vow between the Gear and user gives the user enhanced physical and Miasma abilities to compensate for that. It also increases the strength of the Gear tenfold,' She said.
Footsteps approached us. It was Lucy. She was panting heavily, seemingly exhausted from sprinting too much.
'I hope I wasn't too slow,' she said speaking in between breaths.
'Nope, we handled things fine here.' I assured her.
'We need to set up camp.' Eve said. 'As much as I'd like to go deeper into the forest. We still need to rest.'
I sighed. 'I'm guessing we're sleeping on the ground.'
'Unless you prefer sleeping in a tree. We rotate shifts. If you sense even a trace of cursed Miasma, wake us. Immediately. I'll start.'
We kept watch in turns. During my turns, I would study the book of sword techniques and practice with Ama. There was a lot of ground to cover and I had no time to waste.
Eventually, morning came.
During the day we hunted wild animals; deer and rabbits mostly for food. Killing them was the easy bit. Skinning them was the hard part. I used my miasma to roast the meat and Eve sprinkled it with salt from a pouch. It tasted bland and metallic but kept us alive. I practiced my sword techniques on bears. I felt bad killing them even though we weren't eating them, but I had to practice on something.
At night, Man-eaters came out as if materializing from the shadows. We killed them tirelessly but there was seemingly no end to them. Luckily we only had to deal with lesser Man-eaters. So much so I began to think it would be okay, it would be easy to survive in here.
I was dead wrong.
***
It was the ninth day of our survival expedition. It was noon and we had just finished hunting a little white rabbit. Lately, animals had become suddenly scarce. As if they too were scared to emerge from their dens.
'Tch. Another rabbit. This one won't even last till morning,' I said looking at the dead rabbit.
'We don't have any other option. Our traps have been ineffective so we're going to have to manage.' Lucy said.
Eve walked forward ahead of us. As of now we were several thousand miles deep into the forest now with just 5 days left for us to survive. We smelt like shit, but it was necessary for hiding our scents from Man-eaters and wild animals.
Eve suddenly stopped. She crouched, hovering her hands over the soil. She said, 'These are Shade footsteps.'
Sure enough there were footprints in front of her, but they were faint.
'How do you know those weren't from those guys with Fred?' I asked.
'Because I can sense faint traces of Miasma from them.'
Lucy frowned, 'But that can't be. You even said it yourself, no recent missions have involved any Shades being sent to come here.'
'I know that,' Eve said. She paused thinking hard. 'We have to follow this path. The only logical explanation is that a Shade was sent here as well on or after the day of our own departure. Since there are several entrances to this forest it would be possible to have gotten to this point before us. And t also means the Shade is from another domain. Maybe that explains the shortage of animals.'
Night fell faster than we expected, swallowing the forest in a heavy, breathless darkness. We followed the faint footprints for several hours, trying to trace the individual, but the trail grew weaker making the search difficult. Eve finally decided we needed to set up camp and try again at first light. I volunteered to keep first watch.
The forest's stillness pressed against my senses. Each passing breeze was soft but strangely weighted, brushing across my eyelids with the intentions of a lullaby. I tried to focus my attention by reading, letting the quiet scratch of the pages keep me alert, but the creeping exhaustion was overpowering.
A quick nap couldn't hurt, right?
The next time I opened my eyes, something hovered over me as if suspended in midair. I recognized immediately: I was in the white room. My vision blurred, sound collapsing into static. When everything sharpened again, the Grail floated above me, smiling with a disarming gentleness as it placed both hands against my cheeks. Its face drifted toward my left ear.
'YOU NEED TO WAKE UP Z!'
My eyes snapped open. I shot upright in my sleeping bag, gripping Amaterasu tightly in my hand. Something was approaching. Something deadly, something powerful enough to make the air tighten against my lungs. I turned to wake Eve and Lucy, but the crushing presence intensified, rooting me in place. Whatever approached had locked onto me with murderous intent sharper than any blade.
From the darkness, a hulking shadow walked into the faint moonlight. It was a Man-eater, except something far beyond the ones I had fought before. This one radiated malice like heat from a furnace. Its left arm dangled a severed human head impaled through by its claws like a trophy it had grown bored of. A long, scaled tail flicked behind it, and two curved horns jutted from its forehead.
What kind was this? Eve would know but I couldn't move from where I stood. I unsheathed Amaterasu. I had no choice except to fight.
The monstrosity continued approaching. I blinked. It was gone. Bloodlust erupted from behind me. I turned using the sword to defend.
The impact slammed into my blade like a meteor, launching me through several trees before I crashed onto a half-rotted log. Pain burst up my spine, my vision blurred. I must have blacked out for a second or two.
I have to get up the Man-eater…
I forced my body upright. Eve and Lucy were still unconscious. That wasn't normal. Both should have sensed the overwhelming pressure long before I did. Something had forced all three of us to sleep, but only I had woken.
Luckily, the Man-eater followed after me, walking slowly clearly confident that I was the prey here.
I tightened my grip. My blade needed reinforcement if I stood any chance of even harming it. Miasma flared through my arms, fire igniting along Amaterasu as I rushed forward. It had a clear strength advantage, I had to rely on speed.
I slashed aiming for its neck, but it blocked easily and countered with brutal efficiency. The kick it delivered shattered my ribs on impact. I felt bones crack like dry twigs. I went airborne again, colliding with tree. Blood dripped from my mouth in thin lines. Pain coursed through my body sharply.
Breathing became agony, each inhale a stab to the chest. I couldn't win in a direct fight. I needed Eve and Lucy. My strikes weren't doing enough damage. I was going to die at this rate.
My attacks aren't working I'll have to switch tactics then.
The monster stood motionless only flicking its tail. If I wanted to confuse it, I needed to change the battlefield. Fire would do it and it might wake the others.
I drove Amaterasu into the ground. 'Inferno Fury!'
Flames erupted outward, racing through the underbrush and swallowing the forest in a rising blaze. Branches caught immediately, the sudden light turning the surrounding area into a vivid, burning orange. The temperature rose, but I was immune to the flames and heat. Still, the Man-eater didn't flinch. It stood still, not intimidated by heat.
Time to fight smarter.
This time I would go at it using less offensive attacks while trying to get behind it. I could see better now so I would be able to see its attacks better.
I moved in with a probing slash, forcing it to respond, but it only blocked. No counterattack this time.
I stepped back, sheathing Ama. Faster, I need to get faster.
Flicking the blade out, I unsheathed and as fast as I could move slashed horizontally.
That attack was the Iai slash, and I was sure I had managed to pull it off in less than a second
Clang!
The sword hit something hard. Its claws had stopped the strike. It growled, the sound low. Its tail snapped at my face with blinding speed. I barely dodged, feeling it slice my cheek open.
So fast, I thought.
A millisecond later and it would have taken of my head.
I pressed forward with a downward cut targeting its lower torso. The blade sank into its flesh but the cut was too shallow. The wound only managed to anger it. The next attack moved so fast, I didn't even see it happen. Its claws raked across my torso in a sweeping motion that tore four deep gashes through skin and muscle. Pain swallowed everything. Another kick slammed into my ribs and sent me hurtling backward, tumbling through ash and burning leaves.
I crashed into a tree, hurling blood. The pain yelled throughout my entire body. My lungs felt clogged, struggling to function. My vision dimmed at the edges.
'Is this the end, Z?' A voice said.
'Now you decide to say something?' I croaked. 'I could've used some help earlier.'
'You didn't ask. And it seems right now the most I can do right now is to heal you.'
I didn't want to die. I couldn't. I had to protect Lucy. I had to see Amy again. Even once.
'Please. Help me Grail.'
'As you wish, Z'
Warmth rushed through me. My insides twisted and realigned, bones knitting, muscles pulling and stretching, torn skin closing as if rewound in time. It felt was weird, unsettling, like invisible hands shifting organs into place. But I was alive and I felt stronger than before. I opened my palm, Amaterasu tore itself free from the Man-eater's thigh and flew back into my grasp.
How did I know I could do that?
The Man-eater screeched as I rose to my feet once more. I ran at it. This time it charged to meet me halfway. I halted, raising my sword, focusing every ounce of Miasma into the coming exchange.
The Absetzen.
Its claws lunged for my face. I leaned forward shifting slightly towards the side. Then, using the blade to guide its attack away from my position. Its arm felt like a boulder moving at the speed of a freight train. The impact still rattled my entire body, nearly rendering me unconscious. Blood spilled from my nose, but it didn't matter. Its guard had opened.
A chance.
Reacting with blinding speed. Flames roared along my blade as I struck with full force. The cut tore diagonally across its torso, and fire surged into the wound. The Man-eater screeched sharply, the sound shaking the burning branches overhead. It wasn't dead, but it was injured—and that was enough for now.
I sprinted away from it disappearing between burning trees. I wasn't going to stand there and wait for it to heal.
My entire body throbbed with pain. The last strike hadn't even touched me, yet the force alone had been enough to crush me into the ground if I hadn't reinforced my body with Miasma. But I ran anyway, stumbling back toward the campsite through rising waves of heat and smoke. Eve and Lucy were still lying where I had left them, their chests rising slowly, trapped in a forced sleep. I knelt between them and shook Eve first violently. Nothing happened.
I gathered Miasma in my palm, concentrating until my hand warmed with enough pressure. Placing it firmly against Eve's stomach, I forced my Miasma into her body, trying to circulate it through her pathways. Her eyes flew open a moment later, and she inhaled sharply, gasping.
Confusion drowned her expression for only a second before she felt it—the presence in the woods.
'What… what's going on?' Her voice trembled, but only briefly. Her eyes widened. She didn't need me to explain. She already knew. She had sensed the Man-eater's Miasma already.
'Shit. This cursed Miasma… It's a Devil Man-eater.' She said sweating. She looked really shook, I never expected anything could make her like this. 'Quick, wake Lucy. We need to run.'
'Run?!'
'You idiot that thing can kill us all!' She snapped, her panic burning through her usual calm.
Using the same circulation method, I woke Lucy. She exhaled softly, blinking rapidly as the Man-eaters oppressive pressure washed over her. Unlike Eve, she didn't react with fear or shock. Her silence still unsettled me just as much.
I told them about my fight, leaving out the part where I had nearly died and the Grail had knitted me back together like clay. It felt like Eve didn't fully believe me. Her eyes narrowed, thinking, but she had no time to question further.
'What you saw wasn't even a fraction of its strength,' she said, still steadying her breath. 'Devil-types play with their prey. They drown victims in despair until boredom finally pushes them to kill. That one must have been toying with you.'
A shriek cut across the forest, more violent and furious than before. The atmosphere collapsed inward, tightening around us. Darkness pooled between the trees as though the forest itself recoiled from the sound. The air thickened, becoming harder to breathe. I guess this meant it's ready to kill us now.
'The three of us can't take it,' Eve said. She was scared but was trying not to show it. 'The only time we would have been able to win was to surprise it while it was still playing around. But now - '
'So we run?' I asked.
'We can run, but it won't matter. Devil-types can seal all forest exits with soul seals. There's no escaping unless we kill it. Our best option is to find the other Shade. If they're Dream Shades, we can overwhelm it with our numbers.'
A crushing, suffocating pressure surged behind us. The Devil Man-eater was approaching fast.
'Run!' Eve shouted.
We abandoned everything: bags, supplies, even half-assembled camp gear, and sprinted deeper into the forest, following the faint footprints that we had been tracking earlier. But it was pointless, the Man-eater's presence gained on us quickly.
Then, its presence vanished.
All three of us stumbled to a halt, forming a loose triangle as we scanned the surroundings. The night had grown unnaturally silent. Too silent.
'Get ready,' Eve whispered.
We drew our weapons, forming a defensive stance. Still nothing. No sound. No movement. No breath.
Then the Man-eater materialized ahead of us, its huge frame emerging from the darkness as though stitched into existence. Foam dripped from its blood-stained mouth. Its growl vibrated through the ground, low and resonant enough to shake loose ash from burning branches.
'It seems like they need help down there.'
The voice sliced through the tension. All of us jerked our heads toward it.
Two silhouettes stood among the upper branches of a nearby tree, barely visible through the smoke and shadows. With effortless movements, they leaped down, landing beside us with a practiced stillness that marked them as trained fighters.
The Man-eater snarled, reacting to their arrival.
'That Miasmic energy… You people are Dream Shades of the Moby Dick, aren't you?' Eve asked gripping her daggers tightly. 'What business do you have here?'
'That's funny,' one of them said. 'We were about to ask you the same thing. But that thing isn't going to wait for conversation, so let's deal with it first.'
The Devil Man-eater lowered its torso, its muscles tightening audibly beneath its thick hide. Its tail lashed violently behind it, carving deep lines into the earth. Even with five of us standing together, its confidence did not waver. If anything, it now had more prey to hunt. The air pulsed with its anticipation.
It was five against one. Yet an uneasy feeling screamed that we were still horribly outmatched.
The Devil Man-eater lunged.