The most insulting part—the worm didn't even notice me!
On the other hand, that was great, of course… but it still bruised my pride.
I crawled higher, gripping its ringed body, and settled not far from its head, which opened up like the Predator's from the movie of the same name. From there, I began hammering it with alternating strikes—plain punches mixed with slashes from my claws.
That got its attention.
The worm shrieked and began thrashing wildly. Or maybe Jill played her part too—she fired two incendiary rounds into the monster. Good thing I hadn't made myself comfortable right on its snout but slightly to the side, or I would've caught the blast as well.
The worm reared up and prepared to dive underground.
And I didn't have time to detach myself!
I pressed myself flat against its bulk, practically laying my face against the creature's body. Disgusting, yes—but swallowing dirt (with my jaw, entirely possible) or getting it packed into my eyes was far worse than hugging a giant worm for a few seconds.
The monster resurfaced surprisingly quickly, lunging at Jill, only to receive another round straight into its gaping maw from the unflustered woman. At the same time, a well-placed shot struck the base of its jaws from somewhere off to the side. I decided not to lag behind the ladies—clasped my hands together like a hammer and smashed them down into the wound I had opened earlier.
You know, why is it that whenever there's a giant monstrosity, I end up riding it like it's a rodeo? I thought philosophically, clinging with all my strength and never forgetting to slash at the worm writhing with its whole body.
It leapt into the air and slammed back down. A couple of times I even had to crawl away from dangerous spots because of that. It smashed against the edges of channels formed by the sinking graveyard. All the while, the girls methodically fired at the monster. As mentioned earlier, I was mostly busy not falling off and not getting crushed beneath it—contributing what damage I could, though admittedly far less than Valentine.
Not even two minutes passed (this time I counted, for my own peace of mind—last time, inside Birkin, it had felt like I'd suffered for an entire day) before the worm finally died… crushing me good and proper in its last moments.
Apparently, Yamata—having revealed maybe not herself, but her presence—decided to lie low again, while Jill moved on. Well, fair enough. It was better for her if instead of one monster, two are dead, it's safer that way. Especially since the second one was an unknown quantity, and shots didn't seem to do much to him. At least from the outside. (Every time I remembered that cold sensation, my desire to prove I'd survived shrank noticeably.)
Thus, not noticing the sniper, Valentine headed out of the graveyard into the park.
"Cain, you alive down there?" Yamata climbed into the pit.
"You won't believe it, but this time I can, with some stretch of the imagination, answer 'yes.' Not sure whether that's something to celebrate, though," I replied.
"Yeah, yeah. Get out already, or we'll fall completely behind your Valentine at this rate. I already had to prioritize tailing her when she and Carlos split up at the park entrance." Yamata muttered, clearly annoyed.
I wondered idly—could the infected have those days? Her behavior over the last couple of hours matched the pattern a little too well.
"Almost. Just a few seconds." I puffed and wheezed (even telepathically), pulling myself out from beneath the worm's carcass. And I had even managed to absorb its blood.
Speaking of which—I wondered if I'd sampled enough of Nemesis to acquire something useful. I was already a monster, so one extra device wouldn't ruin the aesthetic. And in combat, it would be a powerful asset. Besides, it was just a dream of mine. What other dream could someone like me have? Only that of further evolution, preferably controlled. And tentacles were a very solid combat bonus. Nemesis had demonstrated that quite convincingly.
"You out? Then let's move. Look how that Special Tactics survivor bolted ahead!" Yamata gestured forward and slightly to the left.
I turned and, sure enough, saw the red outline far ahead of us. I had to silently admit that my partner was right, and we both headed that way.
We arrived either at a very good time—or a very bad one. Depends how you look at it.
It seemed to be my fate to meet Jill in the company of Nemesis.
We caught up to her on a rope bridge, where she was performing acrobatic maneuvers, dodging Nemesis's tentacles. The monster had positioned himself beneath the bridge and was calmly spearing his tendrils through the none-too-sturdy planks. After driving Valentine to the middle of the bridge, he climbed up himself and stood before her.
"Need a hand?" I asked, letting my "voice" drip with mockery.
The lady didn't trust me, so I'd respond in kind. Though I could understand her. Trusting a monster wasn't easy—especially if she'd watched our first encounter to the end. I'd definitely had a hand in the mercenaries' massacre, even if I hadn't been in control at the time. And I hadn't exactly given her many reasons to trust me since. That dry "good luck" of hers had probably been her version of a small gesture of trust—modest and minimal. After all, she's from a special unit, not some naive kid.
Yeah, I'm recalling our meeting with Sherry. Ah well. Guess I wouldn't be pulling off the "mister angel" act anymore. I urgently needed T-Veronica!
"Didn't you kill him last time?" she shot back. Wow, even in this situation managing to slip in a jab.
"It was a draw. We both got scattered pretty far apart. Besides, I showed up just in time and kept that worm busy for a while. You only had to finish it off," I replied, as Yamata and I jumped onto the bridge slightly behind Jill.
The way it started swaying—
Damn!
(End of Chapter)
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