"What the heck is this sand castle?" I asked aloud, but of course, there was no reply, and all I got was a red wolf trying to bite my head off, which I quickly dodged and swiftly beheaded.
My enhanced vision snapped into focus, ignoring the castle. The forest, once a blurry, dangerous maze, resolved into a tactical map. A low growl rumbled from my own throat, a sound I didn't recognize, but it felt right. The {Enhanced Bloodlust} urged me forward, a red haze threatening to consume my strategic thinking.
A boar slammed into a nearby tree, missing me by inches. I pivoted, my wings flapping clumsily, but enough to give me an unexpected burst of agility. The sword, now an extension of my arm, plunged into the boar's flank, tearing through muscle and fat. It squealed, a high-pitched, pathetic sound, and tried to spin.
Before it could, I snapped the gun up, firing a blast directly into its wide-open mouth. The impact launched it backward, its legs flailing, and it collapsed in a twitching heap.
A bird-like beast shrieked, diving at me, its talons extended. I swung the sword in a wide arc, aiming for its win. It shrieked again, its dive turning into a panicked flutter as it tried to escape, but the blade caught it, tearing a long rip in its leathery wing. It tumbled, screeching, to the forest floor.
I didn't wait. I leaped onto its fallen body, stabbing it again and again, driven by a cold, relentless fury that was both mine and Akai's. Black blood splattered across my face, coating my new wings, and the {Enhanced Bloodlust} surged, an intoxicating rush of power.
«---NOTIFICATION---»
[---Demonic Resilience activated: HP regenerating.---]
[---Enhanced Bloodlust increasing combat effectiveness.---]
Next, a swarm of spider-creatures, sensing the momentum shift, swarmed me, their legs scuttling across the ground, their fangs dripping venom. My movements were faster, more brutal, but there were too many. I parried, slashed, and fired, but I was being surrounded.
Then, a new notification.
«---REMINDER---»
[---Current Identity: Akai Varn (Side Character)---]
[---Death "Chapter:" 35---]
[---Current "Chapter:" 12---]
Oh come on… Why now?
I looked around, my {All-Seeing Eye} scanning the chaos, searching for an escape, a tactical advantage. The beasts were relentless, their numbers seemingly endless. The scent of blood was thick, almost suffocating. My armor, despite its sturdiness, was already showing signs of wear, with tears and stains.
Then I remembered. Beyond the immediate chaos, there was this small, almost unnoticeable structure that could turn the tide of the battle around.
With a guttural roar, I activated the skill. "{Castle of Bondage}!" It pulsed, expanded, consuming the air, the trees, even the charging beasts. The air vibrated with a low hum, a spatial distortion that sent shivers down my spine.
The spider-creatures shrieked, their movements becoming erratic. The winged bird, still struggling with its torn wing, shrieked in terror. The boar, barely clinging to life, thrashed.
«---NOTIFICATION---»
[---Skill: {Castle of Bondage} fully manifested.---]
[---Target count: 1,347 (Most beasts within 2km radius captured.)---]
[---All targets are now under the user's command.---]
Then it hit me. The realization. The sheer, overwhelming absurdity of the situation. I, Daniel Hayes, a writer who meticulously crafted worlds and characters, was now a ten-year-old kid with temporary wings, fighting an army of monstrous abominations with a gacha-mechanic sword and gun, and a glorified sandcastle for crowd control. It was darkly, horribly, hilariously ironic.
A maniacal, almost hysterical laugh bubbled up from my chest. Not a laugh of joy, but of desperate, bloody amusement. This was my life now. This was the consequence of my plot decisions.
Ding!
[---Skill: {Mirrored Rhythm} has ended. Cooldown: 2 minutes.---]
The moment the skill ended, the six-limbed bear I noticed at the beginning of the beast flood slammed into me from the left, its claws hitting my armor, causing no damage to the armor itself, but breaking a few bones internally. A searing pain blossomed, but it was almost a welcome sensation, a sharp anchor in the swirling chaos.
My {Demonic Resilience} kicked in, a dull throb of warmth spreading from the wound as my skin began to knit itself back together.
I need more time. I need to move.
My eyes darted around, scanning for any opening, any weakness. My vision painted a horrifying picture of the encroaching horde. They weren't just attacking; they were herding me, pushing me deeper into the densest part of the forest, where the beasts were strongest and escape seemed impossible.
The smell of blood, both monster and my own, was a heady perfume. It fueled the {Enhanced Bloodlust}, a hot, animalistic surge that thrummed beneath my skin. My new wings, though still strange, felt less like a burden and more like a part of me, aching to be unleashed.
But how? I couldn't fly in this dense undergrowth.
Suddenly, a massive wolf, its fur matted with dried blood, lunged. I sidestepped, bringing my sword up, the metal humming as it sharpened. It wasn't the alpha from before, but a packmate, fueled by a primal hunger, not anger. The blade shimmered as it connected, slicing through muscle and tendon with satisfying ease.
SCHLICK!
The wolf dropped, twitching. The scent of its blood hit me like a fresh shot of adrenaline. The {Enhanced Bloodlust} surged, a new, brutal clarity washing over me. This wasn't about strategy anymore. This was about survival. About becoming the predator.
I spun, my gun spitting kinetic blasts. Each shot was precise, aimed at weak points I hadn't even consciously registered before. With just a flicker of movement, I noticed a soft spot under the jaw of a beast, and I dropped my sword and gun so I could use my hands to rip its throat open. Another one down.
'They're coming too fast. I can't keep up.' I thought, getting more and more desperate
A blinding flash of insight, born from desperation and the raw power of the {Enhanced Bloodlust}, surged through my mind. If I can't outrun them or outfight them, I'll outsmart them.
[---QUEST COMPLETE---]
[---First Kill: Clear out the Silverfang wolf den---]
[---Rewards: +10 to speed stat---]
[---Additional quest - Finish what you started, kill all the beasts attacking you---]
[---Reward - Hidden---]
'Really?'