Long, razor-sharp claws tore at the skin. Long fangs that could tear through anything they bit—wings larger than their own body, ending in sharp, small blades. Crimson eyes that glowed brightly in the darkness of the forest, and amid the deadly flapping of hundreds of meter-long bats, the group of four Anchors continued running, desperate.
Colonel Jack had multiple lacerations throughout his body, and his black military clothing was practically nonexistent, being completely torn. The splint on his arm was bitten off, revealing how bloodied and limp his arm was. Jack dragged it with discomfort as several attacks constantly pummeled his already mangled arm.
The man was already losing stamina, taking increasingly slow steps and barely managing to avoid being destabilized by the attacks.
Lisa was not much better. Carrying a dagger made it impossible for her to properly protect herself from attacks, leading to constant wounds. His body was torn apart in most parts- her legs, arms, torso, and back. Everything contained deep wounds.
Furthermore, her left collarbone bore a deep bite that constantly brought her close to unconsciousness.
Elora was also suffering, with dozens of bites and blows that constantly tried to kill her, as she was the last one. Like the others, her body was covered in lacerations, but the attacks were focused on her legs, causing her to run with a limp due to the pain.
The bats seemed to be intelligent enough to attack the group's defenses precisely to separate them.
They tried to make the colonel lose his resistance, constantly attacking him in his weak areas and making him swing his greatsword countless times.
They were simply trying to bleed Lisa dry, as her defenses weren't the best at the moment. This will eventually cause her to fall, satisfying the hunger of a few creatures.
On the other hand, Elora had the most complete defense, as she could swing her tachi multiple times without losing much stamina. Because of this, the bats tried to tear off her legs, making it impossible for her to escape.
Finally, there was Telos. He was the one who had received the fewest attacks, with lacerations on his body from passing attacks, and yet, even without having to move his sword many times, he was the one who had the worst resistance.
'Damn it…'
The bats knew that if Telos were alone, he could not prevent them from killing him easily.
'If I get out of this… I will train my physique."
Panting, Telos continued running. The group's pace had slowed considerably, but they were still able to move.
'Damn, why don't they use their skills!?'
In reality, Telos knew why. It was the same reason why he didn't do it, or why he couldn't control creatures considerably higher in level than himself.
Abilities might seem like a blessing, but they were quite the opposite. Every time the ability is used, it brings with it enormous mental strain. If the ability is abused, one could be rendered unconscious and therefore defenseless.
And by defenseless, he doesn't mean reality... But how the abyss can tame your body and snatch your soul.
Telos gritted his teeth.
Right now, everyone was in a mentally exhausted state from everything that had happened recently, so using the skill would only cause them to be taken over by the abyss.
Telos, above all, was under a lot of mental exhaustion.
Which would mean they'd just die trying... Or so it seems. Telos was the one who clung to life the most, he would not let himself die easily, and he was not stupid either.
Yes, he can't control all these bats, but that doesn't mean he can't control one. Only weak creatures go in groups.
Using the fact that he was no longer affected by the brainwashing, he controlled one of the bats to follow Lieutenant Jin, who was transporting the bodies. This led to a cave.
It could be dangerous, but the Lieutenants should be busy with the Anchors at the camp, which will give them some time before they arrive, and they can set an ambush.
The attacks didn't stop; the smell of metallic blood that was coming off had already merged with the dense air of the forest, as well as with the repugnant smell of bats, which made one's stomach churn.
Telos was sweating profusely. From time to time, he was forced to swing his sword to avoid being brutally injured. The group hadn't entered the forest in the best of conditions, and now they were barely standing, blinded by pain and an unknown objective for three of them.
Still, they were fighting for their lives; death is the end, and the end comes when a story runs out. Telos still had much to tell, much to do.
The constant screeches of bats, the impact of metal weapons with claws. The painting of the four Anchors and their moans of pain when they received a wound. Everything seemed hopeless.
But they kept running, each for their reasons, no one wanted to die without achieving their goals, and they weren't willing to do so.
***
Colonel Jack swung his sword to his right, protecting his cripple
d arm from the bat's claws. On his left side, he received a deep bite, which he defended against by elbowing the bat in the head.
Following the strong elbow, he lifted his arm and stabbed a creature that was above his head. Then, a bat dug its claws into its femur. He grimaced in pain, lowered the hilt of his greatsword, and hit the creature's head hard.
Another bat came from the front, threatening to pierce his chest. With no time and no energy to move his sword fast, he balanced his injured arm and blocked the attack. A sharp pain pierced his mind, but he did not pay attention to it.
Lowering his greatsword sideways, he made a clean cut across the creature's neck. Its head remained on his arm.
'Damn, how much left!?'
***
Lisa lowered his head, narrowly avoiding being bitten off. Using her right hand, which was holding the dagger, she spun around and plunged it into the head of the creature that had attacked her.
Claws pierced deeply into her left arm. Lisa quickly swung her dagger and brought her left arm closer, making the weapon pierce the creature's right eye. Claws pierced his upper back. Lisa launched herself into a tree, colliding with the trunk and shaking off the creature.
Trying to regain balance, stabbed in front of her, piercing a bat's chest. A bite threatened to tear her ankle, so she lifted her leg and brought it down again with force, crushing the creature's head.
'How much left…?'
***
With a vertical slash, Elora prevented a bat from sinking its jaws into her. Trying to regain control of his tachi, she grabbed a bat's long wings and pulled it to the left, causing it to collide with two more that were trying to attack her.
Switching the tachi to another hand, she launched another horizontal slash, causing deep gashes across the three creatures. Her right side was left unprotected, so she shielded herself from the two creatures' attacks with her arm.
Turning the direction of his weapon, she quickly drove the tip of her tachi into the heads of both creatures. To prevent an attack from a bat coming from the front, she took a risky step back, which gave her time to cover herself with the tachi, which still had the two creatures impaled.
Hitting the creature sharply, she threw it to the right and resumed the run.
'How much?'
***
Telos ran, panting heavily.
Behind him, Elora had moved a few feet away. And in front of him, the protection of the Colonel and Lisa was gone; they were both behind him as they fought off the hungry creatures. Now the three of them were behind him, and he led the deadly race toward the cave.
This caused more creatures to attack the young man, which made his fatigue increase considerably.
A bat tried to bite his neck, but he placed his sword between them, momentarily avoiding the attack. He tried to ignore it and keep running, but more of the creatures rushed at him.
One of the creatures sank its fangs into the young man's left bicep. He groaned in pain. However, another attack blurred his vision; claws had ripped powerfully into his back. Telos momentarily lost consciousness.
He gritted his teeth in anger.
He opened his mouth and bit hard on the neck of the bat that was on his bicep. He squeezed hard, trying to return the pain he'd felt. The creature's disgusting taste made him nauseous, but that wasn't the point now. Punching out with his right hand, he tried to push the bat away.
He hit, then once more, and again… He punched and punched until the creature finally bared its fangs.
The darkness a few dozen meters away was deeper, especially due to the lack of trees. Telos knew that place; the cave was close.
But the worst had only just begun. Around Telos, the creatures began to swarm, realizing their prey was close to escaping. They had to at least sate their hunger, even if it was only a few of them. Telos was the easiest target, so they abandoned almost all attempts to subdue the others and swarmed over him.
Telos became heavier, his vision darkened, his sense of smell could no longer smell that repugnant odor, his hearing was close to exploding from the screeches of the creatures, his brain seemed to surrender to the pain.
His lungs were giving out, and his heart could explode at any moment. Slowly, his pace slowed, until finally he stopped.
"Telos!"
Colonel Jack shouted worriedly. He tried to head as fast as he could towards Telos's position, but a scream stopped him:
"Run! Damn it! The cave is in front of you!"
The only thing Telos still had was his voice and his indomitable will to survive. How he was going to do it, he didn't know, but he was going to do it.
Colonel Jack was an experienced man, someone who wouldn't be swayed by worldly feelings. Frowning and looking away, he quickly headed toward the cave, joined by Lisa and Elora, who knew that feelings were useless in the face of survival.
Any sorrow, worry, or disgust they might have felt was quickly swallowed down; they could think about that if they survived.
Telos was embraced by darkness, and the pain vanished. It was death, no... it was the abyss trying to take his body.