POV: Vernisha


    Jim shot up with a serious expression. Without saying a word to Jer-kel, he drew his war hammer and summoned a pink shark-ray monster with a turtle shell, its skin covered in sharp, layered teeth.


    He mounted its back. “I’ll keep it away from here,” he said, casting a quick glance at Jer-kel. “You know what to do.”


    “Yes,” she replied, her voice low.


    With a swift movement, Jim took off toward the source of the sound.


    Is Lo going after the monster too? I thought, anxiety creeping in.


    “It’s... It’s coming back!” someone cried.


    “Oh, we’re going to die. We’re going to die!” another voice screamed.


    The crowd panicked, scattering in all directions.


    Jer-kel clicked her tongue in frustration. “Don’t run!”


    But, of course, they didn’t listen.


    With a swift stomp, Jer-kel sent a massive cockroach monster with lobster-like pincers scuttling forward. The pincers, glowing a deep brown, plunged into the earth, digging furiously. The ground seemed to cry in response, dirt rising to form a protective barrier around the panicking people.


    “Let us out!” someone shouted.


    “You’re going to get us killed!” another person yelled.


    The dirt wall was thin, but strong enough to make breaking through impossible.


    Jer-kel turned to me, her eyes narrowing. “You too should—”


    Before she could finish, she grabbed my hand and leapt back. The air around us suddenly grew hot, and where I had been standing moments ago, the ground was scorched.


    That same monster—it''s here again?!


    Jer-kel was equally confused. “Why is it here...? The Sharfeline shouldn’t be—”


    The monster emitted a strange sound, its voice garbled, “Get... the shovel for the... apples... bathe the apples…”


    What?


    Jer-kel’s expression darkened. “Stay by my side. If you run, it’ll be harder for me to protect you.”


    “Got it,” I whispered.


    Jer-kel threw a spear, which flew through the air with precision, but the Sharfeline easily dodged it by leaping several meters into the sky.


    She yanked me by the hand, and we rushed toward her cockroach monster. The creature, now hurling rocks the size of soccer balls at the Sharfeline, managed to land a few hits. Each strike made the monster roar in pain, but it didn’t stop there. In retaliation, it shot fireballs at the cockroach monster.


    Once we reached the creature, Jer-kel kicked it, sending it back toward her.


    Suddenly, the Sharfeline’s legs split open to reveal a vertical mouth lined with shark-like teeth, and a disgusting stench erupted from it. I immediately vomited, my eyes watering from the overwhelming smell.


    Is that some sort of skill?


    Jer-kel stomped the ground, summoning a humanoid woman with the lower body of a massive black spider. Her upper body was strangely beautiful, though her hair—if it could be called that—was made up of blue, bleeding tongues writhing and dancing in the air.


    This is... disturbing.


    The humanoid spider grinned, its spider legs enlarging and shifting to pierce the Sharfeline. The legs were like spears come to life. One hit the Sharfeline in the shoulder, and another in its stomach. The monster’s head grew three times its size, and its neck stretched out, whipping toward us like a deadly wrecking ball.


    Staying near her is going to get me killed.


    The humanoid spider moved quickly, blocking each of the Sharfeline’s neck slams with its arms. Each impact echoed with a sickening thud.


    Jer-kel gritted her teeth, her arm trembling with the effort of absorbing the blows. Damage-sharing...


    The spider’s arms began to shake, but the Sharfeline grinned. It was enjoying the fight.


    Jer-kel moved her hand to grab thin air. But just before her fist closed around it, the humanoid spider sliced off one of its legs at the joint, kicking it toward Jer-kel. The spider leg landed in her hand just in time.


    She hurled the leg into the Sharfeline’s eyes. Distracted by its efforts to overpower the humanoid spider, it didn’t see the attack coming.


    With a screech, the Sharfeline reared up onto its hind legs. The humanoid spider responded by pounding the ground with both hands. From its fingernails, a swarm of spiders scurried toward the Sharfeline.


    The Sharfeline quickly regained its composure. It lowered its front legs and let out a breath of fire, sending it roaring toward us. The fire didn’t just incinerate the spiders, but it came at us like a speeding truck.


    “Stay behind me!” Jer-kel shouted, moving swiftly in front of me.


    The humanoid spider raised its hair in defense, blocking the incoming flames. Everything in front of us was consumed by fire—until the Sharfeline leapt through the flames, aiming for Jer-kel. Its legs targeted her head, but in a split second, its own leg slammed into Jer-kel''s body, sending her soaring through the air.


    No... No, she can’t—


    Jer-kel hit the ground hard, skipping like a stone across water until she crashed into a tree.


    She has to be alive. She’s an adventurer!


    The ground around her erupted in fire, but she remained in the center, unyielding.


    “Get… pints… food… dying…” the Sharfeline rasped from the mouth in its stomach.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    “How... are you here?” It focused on me now.


    My heart pounded, and a cold wave of fear washed over me. I need to get out of here.


    The humanoid spider’s mouth twisted, its eyes rolled back in its head, and its face split open into a grotesque, massive mouth. It lunged, biting down on half of the Sharfeline’s body.


    The fire died down, and Jer-kel rose to her knees. Her face was horribly burned, but she didn’t seem to care. She looked around, searching for the Sharfeline.


    With a ferocious cry, she charged at it, grabbing its torn abdomen and ripping it wide open.


    Blood poured from the wound, thick and heavy, leaking out in grotesque, liquid-filled sacs. And within two seconds, small, alternate versions of the Sharfeline emerged from the sacs, struggling to break free.


    They were no taller than a dog, roughly the size of a husky. They lacked tails and mouths, but their eyes shone with an odd, animalistic charm.


    “Drink... sky... dirt!” the Sharfeline screeched before charging at Jer-kel.


    Twelve of its newborns rushed toward the wall Jer-kel had built, their glowing white auras crackling with energy. They slammed into it, one after the other.


    The wall shuddered, but it didn’t fall immediately. The monsters’ attacks seemed to hurt them too. At first, I thought they were the ones getting injured by the impact.


    But as cracks formed in the wall, I realized that the monsters were relentless. Each strike brought the wall closer to breaking. After ten more hits, the front wall cracked in half. Five more and the wall collapsed completely.


    The villagers stared at the small monsters in fear. The creatures moved slowly, like predatory hyenas.


    Even if I wanted to help...


    In the corner of my eye, I spotted a newborn staring at me.


    Oh, shit.


    I quickly reached for my knife, my heart pounding.


    It lunged at me.


    It was like a damn arrow—too fast for me. I barely registered the mistake I''d made when I tried to run, but the moment I turned, I felt a sudden weight on my shoulder.


    Then pain. Blood. More pain.


    The monster had torn off a large chunk of my shoulder. I slashed at its face, but it parried my knife with its claws, and the next thing I knew, its claws sliced halfway through my wrist.


    It moved for my neck, but then, thank god, Jer-kel, the humanoid spider, caught it with one of her legs. The monster resisted, scratching at her leg, but she slowly dragged it toward her mouth. She fit the entire head into her mouth and ripped it off, chewing on it like it was a snack.


    Thank god... wait, something feels off.


    Why did Jer-kel take so long to kill such a weak monster when she could''ve done it in an instant?


    The newborn monster went limp and fell to the ground. Jer-kel was hunched forward, staring at it, her movements stiff, like a zombie that had just regained consciousness.


    This is bad.


    I gave my shoulder a healing touch, the pain easing a little, and ran.


    Something didn’t sit right. Jim and Lo were missing. Had the creature used some trick to deceive us? Or had the tear in its abdomen meant it spawned offspring to keep them busy?


    I glanced at Jer-kel. She was struggling, and now the monster she killed seemed to be acting strangely. I don''t know what''s going on, but at least it''s not rampaging.


    I wanted to help, but how? Healing her would only kill her—she wasn’t a monster.


    A barrage of spider legs shot toward the sharfeline, and just like that, it seemed to snap back into action.


    But one of the stakes hit Jer-kel in the chest, denting her armor, knocking her back a considerable distance.


    Screams pierced the air, not from her, but from the villagers, who were being slaughtered by the newborns. They weren''t eating them; they were killing them, tearing through flesh in a frenzy. Their claws burned with fire as they ruptured heads, shredded stomachs, and bit off necks.


    Hell, they were even turning on each other, stabbing each other in the back to secure kills or, seemingly, for no reason at all.


    They were truly... monsters. Embodiments of pure evil.


    Natasha had never described them like this. She always told me to avoid them, but she’d talked about monsters like they were natural disasters for humans, delivering justice for our sins. She must’ve been out of her mind.


    Two of the monsters fought over the body of a toddler, pulling her in opposite directions like some sick game.


    Then there was a tearing sound, and no one cried for her as her parents—who had tried to defend her—lay headless at her side.


    I felt sick. And even worse, I felt disgusted with myself, because not only couldn''t I help, I didn''t want to.


    While all this chaos unfolded, I hadn’t just stood there, watching. I’d sneaked into an open house, hiding behind the window.


    My heart raced in my chest. My hands were slick with sweat, and blood wasn’t the only thing dampening my clothes. My whole body was soaked in fear.


    I hadn''t pissed myself, but with how terrified I was, I wouldn''t be surprised if I lost control.


    Fuck my life.


    I gripped my knife tightly, but what good was it? I couldn’t even touch one of those monsters.


    If I stayed here...


    One of the monsters stopped chasing the villagers and began sniffing around, moving closer to the house I was hiding in.


    Shit!


    I dropped to the ground, covering my nose and breathing through my mouth.


    It didn’t see me. It didn’t see me... but it can smell me.


    I trembled as I heard it mumbling to itself, “My... daughter... Dad! San... I am... Mammy...”


    It was fusing words it’d heard, trying to make sense of them.


    It was getting closer. Fuck.


    The only thing special about me was my healing ability. But I was still just a vlandos. Maybe now was the time to use everything that came with being one.


    Augment speed.


    Inefficient modification points. Please gain more levels to earn modification points.


    Please bind with a monster to gain levels.


    Fuck!


    I gripped my knife tighter and crawled toward the kitchen, glancing at the pots hanging by the counter.


    I grabbed a frying pan, hoping to use it as some kind of shield—even if it could only take one hit.


    I could hear Jer-kel fighting the sharfeline outside. The noise of their struggle drowned out the footsteps of the newborn approaching.


    I was anxious. Terrified.


    I needed a plan. I didn’t need to kill it—I just needed to—


    The wooden walls shattered.


    “Don’t... kill... see!”


    Shit!


    The newborn rushed at me, its stomach tongue lashing out and its twisted smile widening.


    Too fast. Too fast!


    I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn’t. Not if I wanted to survive. I moved the frying pan to protect my neck.


    The claws smashed through the pan like it was paper, but that wasn’t all I was doing. My knife followed a low arc, moving just as quickly, aiming for its stomach.


    It struck.


    The monster looked down in shock, seeing my knife embedded halfway into its stomach. Its fury erupted.


    “QUA!”


    It slashed at me, raking its claws across my chest, and blood poured from the wound.


    Then, its tail wrapped around my arm, swinging me through the air before throwing me into the ceiling.


    My nose cracked. Hurts...


    I fell back to the ground, gasping for air.


    The same claw it had used to rip my chest open—soaked red with my blood—began to heat up, turning into fire.


    I released the pan and clutched my chest, desperately trying to regenerate the flesh that had been stripped from the bone. I poured almost everything I had into it, and that everything was draining me, making me feel more and more exhausted.


    The monster leaped at me, its mouth and stomach stretching open like the jaws of a hungry lion. I raised my arm to shield my face, but fuck that.


    I slapped its face just as its filthy tongue reached for my shoulder. The tongue moved like a snake, tightening around my arm, trying to rip it off.


    Well, whatever. It’s not like I slapped it instead of stabbing it for no reason.


    Then there was a flash—black, unlike the flashes vlandos used when sending out monsters. It came from me.


    The monster turned into black energy, sucked into my left palm.


    I breathed hard, heart pounding. Ha... it worked.


    Hahaha, it fucking worked—


    But then my hand burned.


    Shit, shit, shit!


    It felt like lava coursing through my veins.


    Against my will, another black flash erupted. The monster reformed, and the pain was even worse.


    It twitched. I couldn’t let it kill me.


    I moved fast, taking advantage of its disorientation. I grabbed the monster by the neck and threw all my weight onto it.


    It crashed onto its back, and I hovered over it, stabbing with all my strength. Not once, but repeatedly, rapidly.


    Die. Die. Die!


    It squealed, its claws tearing at me, ripping flesh from my back and sides. I bled a lot, but I didn’t stop.


    However, if I kept going, I’d die first.


    I grabbed it with my left hand, and another black flash burst from my palm.


    I breathed hard, feeling the blood running down my back and legs, dripping onto the ground. I could feel all of it, the pain rising like a storm, just before the horrible bone-crunching pain slammed into me. The monster launched back, but I took advantage of the moment, stabbing it again.


    I stabbed and stabbed, because my life depended on it. And it clawed at me because its life depended on it.


    It thrashed violently, like a chicken with its head cut off.


    Finally, its movements slowed, growing weaker. Almost as weak as mine.


    Then, it stopped moving.