บท 16: On His Own (3)
Down the distant hills, under the heavy grayed clouds with flushes of yellow in its cracks from the setting sun, was a black armored personnel carrier with two stark white marks on both its sides. Even if it wasn't perfectly shaped into view yet from this distance, Hope knew they were shaped into two stars.
An Awakened cohort's vehicle.
Hope skidded slightly in the loose gravel as he stepped forward, debating if he should run in that direction or not. From a distance, it looked like a speck. Well, maybe not a tiny speck, but small enough that it was like an ant crawling up its mount.
Was he really in luck? Could he hitch a ride and get out of these cold hills once and for all?
Hope's body stiffened at the thought.
'Why do I feel like I jinxed myself...'
Krrrsssh....
"..."
That...didn't sound like it came from the vehicle.
But from beneath him?
Hope looked down and saw the gravel sink in a small line.
Slowly at first, then rapidly all at once.
Then, the whole ground crumpled beneath his feet and a long gray limb slowly rose out of the earth.
Krrrrrsssssh!
Hope immediately dove off to the side and turned around in time to see a whole monster emerging.
A monster nearly twice his size or more started to tower over him. It had ashen skin and long pointy arms with bone spikes up its limbs as it clawed out of the buried earth. It bent its shelled back and dragged behind a large purple abdomen and four broken hindlegs. It was similar to the distant silhouette monster he saw earlier this afternoon.
So, a landslide really did happen here...
How was it not dead?
Kreeeeeeeeh!
It turned towards him. A head resembling a lot like an insect had two wide alabaster eyes with a torn jaw hanging from its face.
It may have survived but it wasn't spared from any damage.
Reflexively, Hope's hands moved towards his rifle and brought it up to aim. Although a part of his rational mind was screaming 'no', his fingers pulled the trigger anyway.
Tink. Tink.
'It's out of ammo idiot!'
It wasn't that he forgot...He couldn't.
But impulse and knowledge were truly two separate things.
Krreeeeeeeh!
The monster shot its left arm out. Hope immediately dove off to the side to avoid its attack.
But once he got back on his feet, the monster was already clawing the earth violently towards him at an incredible speed.
'Fast fast fast-'
Hope tried to move backward away from the monster, but his feet slipped on the loose gravel. The monster did a wide sweep, and Hope at the last moment let himself fall backward.
Instead of impaling his side, its tip caught onto Hope's chest rig and swung him up the hill. Hope breezed through the air like a pitched ball.
Kwaaang!
"Keuok!"
Somewhere off to the side, he heard his rifle gun rolling down a steep slope till it became an echo.
'Ah...I'm next to the cliff.'
"Uggh..."
Pain spiked through his back and the world faded into a blur as grabbed his abdomen. He struggled to gulp for air.
It took just one swing and already Hope was blown away.
But as Hope forced his gaze downhill on the monster, memory voices roared in his head.
Right. Hope had fought this type of monster before, albeit it was from a distance with his firearm, and it was the Awakened who took it head-on. But these Awakened Beasts were agile creatures that tore through their prey and bit off their heads in a single bite. Frighteningly agile for a mere soldier.
For an Awakened, probably not as much.
But what did that exactly mean for him as a Dreamer?
This monster, however, had four hindlegs broken so it wasn't as fast.
But still quite fast.
As his vision started to clear, a blurry blob swelled towards him.
'Jump...' An instinctive voice whispered.
Hope took in a quick breath and jumped far away from the cliff.
Crash!
A loud explosion of rock shattered behind him.
Hope rolled and scrambled a distance away from the monster, stumbling as he shook away the last remains of his daze.
At that moment, his mind began to move quickly more than the fierce pumping of his heart.
How far was the Awakened's carrier? Should he make a run toward the cohort? It was worth trying, but a long-distant chase with this monster had a low success rate for him.
Short bursts of dodging its attacks and creating enough space between them was what he could do for now.
Kreeeeeeeeh!
The monster's jaw swayed as it let out another pitch cry.
The sky that was once flushed with yellow became dim. The sun was disappearing more and more by the minute.
And darkness in the wastelands was a heavy blanket to be under.
'Dammit.'
Hope shoved the last traces of pain aside as he prepared himself for another dodge.
Kreeeeh!
Its limbs scraped up the earth, dragging itself frantically towards him as if he were its biggest archenemy.
No Dreamer would fight a monster head-on fresh out of their Nightmare. He did spend years training as a soldier, but the progression from him becoming a Dreamer to fighting one-on-one with an Awakened monster was happening incredibly fast. No Awakened even taught him how to fight these monsters as they did-
!!!
Hope made a noise of surprise as a stream of memories blurred his vision.
He quickly clutched his head and was about to curse when he realized something else about them...
'Wait-'
Woosh!
A gray limb rose and descended upon Hope in one fierce motion. But at the same time, Hope took a sidestep from the monster, letting the monster's momentum carry itself downward.
In between those seconds, Hope grabbed a handful of gravel before spraying them right into the monster's eyes.
Kreeeeeh!?
Cries of alarm and confusion echoed off into the hills as the monster shook the flakes of gravel, swinging itself side to side in search of its small foe.
Hope had already dashed far behind it to buy himself time.
But as he did so, a faint film was playing in front of his eyes: Distant figures of the Awakened fighting it, coordinated with it—their moves, the monster's countermoves, the patterns, the timing...
Kreeeeeh!
The monster finally caught sight of Hope. It crouched low to the ground, and although its hindlegs were broken, Hope knew what its next move would be.
Its forelegs dug into the rocky soil as it forcefully lunged itself towards him.
Hope waited a couple seconds before jumping off to the side again, avoiding the aftershock on the ground.
He rolled back onto his feet and counted the seconds between its next anticipated attack.
Of course. He could see it.
He could remember it.
He could remember it all.
***
Crash!
Hope dodged another strike from the monster's ashy limb. Under the now falling twilight and shrouded sky, its purple abdomen and alabaster eyes had begun to glow.
Hope had replayed the memories of the Awakened fighting this monster over and over again. A few times he accidentally submerged himself into the memory and almost met an untimely death. But other than that, he finally identified its rhythms, patterns, and attacks.
Maybe his curse wasn't so useless after all.
'Slice left.'
Hope instantly dropped to the ground and felt the blow pass overhead.
'Slice right.'
Hope placed both palms on the floor and rolled himself in the opposite direction.
'Strike down- Shit!'
Hope quickly did a back roll and barely dodged the monster's arms raining down. The great force exploded the ground, hundreds of gravel stones arose and spewed in different directions from the impact. The force caused Hope to awkwardly bounce off to the side.
This had been going on for a couple of minutes.
The Awakened cohort didn't seem far off, but with the slopes and winding roads, it would take some time before it reached them. The thought of running away was still tempting, but in the growing darkness, there was a high chance of him misstepping and falling to his death.
Kreeeeeeeeh!
But there were a couple of things Hope had deduced from this monster.
One, it was obviously dangerously strong and fast, so likely its endurance was impalpable once it set eyes on its prey even if he made a run for it.
Two, it was a mindless beast.
Hope had the upper hand in reading its patterns and avoiding its attacks.
But because it's a mindless beast...
Kreeeeeeeeh!!
...it could let its mind go completely berserk, a point of blind frenzy with unpredictable attack patterns.
And it wasn't too thrilled with its lack of progress.
He supposed he had only one 'weapon' at his arsenal in replace of his lost rifle...But he wasn't too sure how he could use it against the monster. Would it be too big for him to carry? It wasn't a sword so it wasn't like he could swing it around either.
Hope clicked his tongue in annoyance as he leapt back.
As the monster leaned onto one side and raised its spiky limb, Hope finally summoned his Memory.
[Ashen Shield].
Bssscch!
Ethereal lights swirled around his left hand, emitting a pale blue glow as it took form.
Kreeeeeeh!
Hope didn't plan to dodge this time.
After a solid weight replaced the flurry of lights, Hope swung the shield to the side of his face-
Chiiik!
-and narrowly deflected the monster's thrust.
His body grew rigid against the tremendous pressure. But he felt something else wrong when he held up the shield. No doubt there was weight on it. It had its physical form wrapped around his hand.
But the shield felt light.
Too light.
The monster pushed back and suddenly brought both arms up for a smash. But Hope was too close to safely avoid the attack.
Kreeeeeeeh!
No time to think.
In an instinctive hurry, Hope flung himself forward, narrowly passing its limbs.
The ground quaked beneath him as he rolled next to its glowing abdomen.
In its dim purple light, Hope glanced down at his shield.
And it was...
'The fuck is this...?'
...a small round shield.
It was a shield just a few inches bigger than a dinner plate with a small, raised sphere at its center. His hand gripped in a fist on the central handle.
It was metal. Durable. Solid.
But mostly importantly, it was small.
Krrreeh kreh kreeh!
He had never seen anyone use this type of shield before. Most of the Awakened carried majestic steel swords and big shields that were formidable against monster's attacks or their spitting fire. But this tiny thing? Was far from majestic.
'Dammit. Maybe I should have read the description.'
Hope gritted his teeth.
'No shit.'
Hope shook his head.
There was no need to hold onto regrets. But he had neglected the idea of exploring his Memory because he didn't want to deal with his character profile anymore. Well, at least for a little while. Especially not after the interaction he had with the Spell in his Soul Sea, if he could call it that.
But it was a shield. Typically, would've been a heavy broad material.
Kreeeeeeeeh!
Its milky alabaster eyes glowed with a frenzy as it locked its gaze on him.
In a moment it was going to go in an absolute berserk mode.
Its patience, if it had any, was wearing thin.
Hope squinted his eyes as he looked around for a clearing. A stable ground. Anything.
Finally, through the twilight's darkness, he vaguely caught sight of a patch of solid rock near the cliff.
A plan quickly formed in his mind.
'And here I thought I put close combat behind me.'
Bvvvvvvrrrrrr–
Somewhere in the darkness, he could hear the Awakened cohort's engine rumbling closer.
Maybe they could deal a death blow in time on this creature. But at this rate, his [Tears of Sorrow] Attribute could only take him so far into the creeping night.
He'd have to attack it himself.
Kreeeeeeeeeeeh!
The monster's hanging jaw gaped wide as it released a deafening, blood-curdling scream.
'Yeah yeah I'm coming.'
Hope dashed towards the cliff till his feet met the solid patch of rocky ground.
The pain in his chest resurfaced as he took in a slow deep shaky breath.
Kreeeeeeeeeeeh!
He could see the monster's milky eyes in the darkness floating towards him.
'One. Two. Three...'
Hope crouched down, his hand tightly gripped onto his shield. At least he had a 'weapon' to use now.
If he had to fully attack, then it was best to get it over and done with.
Inhale.
A chilling calm swept through. He breathed in carefully this time, letting the air flow gently into his lungs, and suddenly the world slowed to a crawl at that moment.
Krrreeeeeeehh-
His eyes locked onto the monster's outburst, its silhouette movements becoming distinct as it loomed toward him. His undisturbed focus on the monster had the voices from his memories hush into a murmur. The only clear sound came from the rhythm of his heart, soft and steady in his ears.
Exhale.
His body felt lighter. Fingers and feet tingled. Itching to respond to the slightest command of his whim.
Kreeeeeaaah!
'Now.'
Chiiik!
Metal hissed against the monster's thrust as Hope brought the shield up to the right side of his face. And echoes of stone crumbling behind warned him of a falling death.
If the attack came to his right, then the next would be...
Hope dropped to one knee.
The monster performed a wide sweep. But the moment its limb was about to pass overhead, Hope twisted his body and raised his left arm. The shield being brought through the monster's joint.
Slash!
A satisfying slice passed through flesh.
The monster reared back and shrieked in pain.
Hope could see its shadowed silhouette drop to one side.
It was open. Vulnerable.
Hope's body lunged itself forward.
He dodged as the monster bent down and clumsily tried to bite his head off with its torn jaw.
Hope craned to the left. His cold gaze watched as the broken mandible bit nothing but air.
And with one motion.
KreeeeaaAH?!!
Hope shoved his shield right into its armored chest.
The monster twisted to bite again, but Hope swung already onto its back as he did a chokehold on the monster.
Leathery skin and spiky hairs were felt underneath his palm. He didn't have enough momentum to strike deep enough into its chest. But that wasn't of concern.
The instant Hope made physical contact with his hands, he could feel something slightly draining from his body.
At the same time, the monster began to sway.
Kreeeeeeeeeh!
Smash!
Hope was about to feel relieved of his Aspect ability to work.
Until the monster started to thrash its head around...
Its head writhed around in its last desperation against him. It even smashed itself onto the ground to get rid of the annoying pest. Hope's head was starting to be sucked into a nauseous spiral from the frantic movements.
How many seconds was it?
Only three.
No. Now five.
How long will it take for his aspect to fully subdue this monster?
Now seven seconds have passed.
Hope didn't know when it would, maybe less than a minute. But now it was too long.
Dammit he was annoyed. This bastard wouldn't give in.
Hope gritted his teeth as he shifted the angle of his shield and dug into the front of the monster's neck.
Krraaaa—Reeeeeehhk!
Slowly, the rim inched into its throat.
Hope could hear the skin...the flesh...the cartilage...the bone—
Slice!
All of a sudden, all support Hope held onto disappeared from his grip.
He felt himself roll down its back and expected to hit the ground as well.
But then the ground also disappeared...
'Not again!'
Hope struck his shield blindly into a thick shadowed wall he saw towering to his right. The sound of rock broke in his ears and his descent slowed. Until the wall also vanished, and Hope fell for another several feet before crashing into the ground.
Supak!
The wind knocked out of him. His face became flushed. Hope swallowed gulps of nothing into his lungs as the Spell breathily spoke into his ear:
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Grieve Crawler]
'Shut...up...'
Hope thought as he rolled to his side.
CRASH!
But then the whole ground shook beneath him.
He quickly reached out for something to support him, but instead, his hand met a strange texture: a leathery rubbery wall, a long-bent stick. No. An arm. With jutted thorns-
'Ah...'
It was the monster's body that fell after him.
"Tsk..." Hope kicked the monster. Although clumsily and with weak effort.
But he shouldn't rest now. If he did then his body-
"Arg!"
All the pain slowly crept back onto him. It started like a spark on his back, then it clawed towards his arms and legs, twisting a knife in his chest.
Hope's limbs trembled as he tried to get up once more.
Another reason why he shouldn't rest now was...
'The cohort...'
He could hear them, their carrier rumbling somewhere high above. But as Hope suspected earlier, the result of the landslide would veer their direction.
And it did.
Their engine started to pull away from Hope's ears, the sound trailing far off into the night. The knowledge of there ever being a lost soldier nearby would never occur to them.
In the meantime, Hope gripped his chest and tried to force himself to breathe normally again. How hard could breathing be? His mind was clear. Minus the faint voices that accompanied him once more back in its normal volume. But his fingers were able to obey into a fist; his eyes scanned the darkness for any further danger; his nose registered the monster's odor and the clouds of dust from their fall.
But telling himself to breathe and his body obeying such an intuitive command were not aligning as easily as he thought.
'Breathe dammit...'
"Haaaaa- Kwouk! cough!"
His lungs and chest weren't impressed at his assumed speed recovery.
Hope then let himself lay there in the dark until he could finally breathe again. The chance of help out of his grasp once more.
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