14 Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up An Escapee In A Government Facility?!
Ah yes, The Butterfly of Delirium or like some weirdos I met online call, the "why" boner.
Although this aragami-like monster has kept her feminine figure, the little traces of the exoskeleton she had to cover tidbits of her dark pinkish skin in the game were more prominent now, that is to say, she was covered head to toe, her chest was especially armored too.
This only meant less fanservice and more bullshit for us to deal with.
Not to mention her bonified hair standing up and forming a crown-like shape that has globs of her venom at its tips that she launches around the battlefield.
*ClanG!* The ground beneath me shook as Oliver blocked a tail swipe from the growling beast.
"It's only going for you!" Oliver grunted as the red aura around his body brightened and shoved back the tail that honest-to-God I'm not kidding, has a mouth, teeth, tongue, puss-like eyes, jaws, and looks to be made of some weird mix of exoskeleton and bones.
And it shoots venom because why the Fu*k Not!?
"I'd be pissed if someone shot my eye too!" I chuckled before aiming my bayonet at the remaining eyes of the monster's tail.
*Bang!*
"WAGH&$#@!!!" With a howl that made me wish I didn't have hearing, the Butterfly began to repeatedly smash the ground with its writhing tail in utter rage.
Once a monster enters this berserk state, they become hard to handle without suffering heavy losses. Luckily, we had Louis right here as this Royal Lost still had the same weakness as in the game.
*Fwom!*
The expedition leader unleashed a fire wave so we wouldn't be cornered and the Butterfly immediately retreated.
It finally began to show its intelligence as it didn't recklessly attack us anymore. The anger and shame of getting her prey stolen and her tail injured finally diminished as she saw us as a genuine threat.
Too bad that she realized that a little too late as we had already formed a course of action during our little warm-up.
The Butterfly snarled at us from far away, fully unfurling her long petal-like wings in an attempt at finally using her flight to turn the tides of the battle to her advantage.
And, honestly, the image of her violet petal wings expanding and showing the vein patterns they have along with the starry sky night as the background was a rather enchanting sight.
Unfortunately for her, Yami, in an attempt to replicate my swagger, strolled to the side of the monster with little to no care right from behind. His footsteps, breathing and all of his movements were completely silent.
He planted his feet on the ground firmly before giving his all, swinging his sword, and cutting off two out of six of the wings extending from her armored back.
"#$%*&(?ŢŢ℉⁋⁒^<" And just when I thought that her screaming couldn't get worse!
Having lost almost half of her flight capabilities, she tumbled down to her side but she was going down swinging!
*B-Bang!*
I shot her tail once again as she tried to smack Yami before he struck again but this time his blade generated a certain noise as it vibrated.
This certainly set off the alarm bells in her head.
*Clank*
But Ren's attack only cut halfway through her reinforced leg as she blocked the attack.
"Shit!" He had no option but to jump back as the Butterfly spewed her venom before he had a chance to strike again. But his task was done.
"Whop!" With a puff of air, Oliver spun his hammer to gain traction as the red aura around him became denser.
The Butterfly wasn't very willing to let Oliver get close when just him running at her made the wind howl around him. So she opened her mouth to spew her venom as she used her tail to gain stability and couldn't move like before but-
*Bang!*
My crimson bullet entered her mouth and the mist dispersed immediately. Her restrained mobility made this possible.
And the moment she recoiled and the venom missed its mark, Oliver delivered his strike.
*BOOM!*
The ground cracked and caved in as it couldn't sustain Oliver's strength, the monster that just happened to be between his hammer and the ground let out a sound that I wanted to hear so much after failing to break her armor many times. Even if I possess fire, I'm unable to compress it enough to pierce her shell like Louis.
*CRACK!*
The shell under Oliver's hammer fractured and her chest finally was exposed. The fissures already dealt by Louis finally opened enough to see the inside.
Not in the sexy way, unfortunately.
Flesh and purple blood oozed from her chest, but before Louis could deliver the finishing strike with his crimson sword, red veins barely visible in her chest shined before an explosion of misty venom spurt from her chest, tail, and bloodied mouth.
Louis was momentarily blinded but stroke nonetheless.
"It was shallow!" He warned as the team was blinded by the cloud of venom.
I could see Oliver moving to Louis' side as he was the closest one and blocking a tail swipe before the Butterfly rolled out once she was free and ran towards me-
Oh, this fuc*ing B!tch!
"Adam!" Yami yelled from afar. Despite being also blinded he could still sense the movement in the surroundings.
He didn't need to say more as I emptied a clip onto the bulldozing Butterfly.
She covered her chest with her limbs and I only managed to completely destroy the leg wounded by Yami while heavily injuring the remaining ones.
"Bring it then!" I steeled myself and summoned the fire to surround my spear.
I knew that I wouldn't be able to take her down without taking a hit.
Jumping above her tail's attempt at chomping me in half, I cut her remaining leg off before blocking her pointy arm trying to pierce my neck.
"Ugh!" I gritted my teeth the moment she used her remaining arm to pierce my side.
The sharp feeling of one of her lance-like limbs entering my stomach was fuckin' painful!
"AUGH#*%&" But the sound she made once my claw blood veil entered her chest uninterrupted by the armor made more than up for it.
*thud* She fell on top of me as she tried with her remaining strength to bite me but the only thing that reached my mask was her blood and liquid venom. And even then that was blocked mostly by my liquid Apoz.
*TSSssss!* I summoned fire onto my claw and began to burn her inside out.
She began to writhe as steam came out of her every orifice.
Fuc#ing die Already!
*Thwatch*
The meaty sound of Yakumo's blade easily cutting this boss in half by striking the side Louis had wounded already brought peace to my soul. Her lower body flopped on the ground as the upper half was sent flying somewhere.
The venom mist around us began to dissipate slowly right after.
"I had that…" I groaned.
"Sure, I believe that you also Have the capability of walking by yourself." A not so convinced Yakumo retorted, reminding me of the hole in my leg that a certain b!tch a few yards away made in the last moment with her leg. I couldn't keep my spear once we reached the ground.
"Man, I was just trying to not think about it!" I did a pretty good job at stopping myself from writhing in pain. I could take the gaping hole on my side because my upper body is properly protected, but my leg was another deal.
Yakumo simply crouched down beside me before injecting an antidote into my leg. "Good thing you bought many of them."
"Ucksonofa-! At least warn me beforehand!!"
The hole in my leg would usually heal in seconds but the lingering venom makes those seconds not only longer, but also makes them feel like minutes because of the pain.
Goddammit…
"Wait, if you are here, what about the other group?" I looked in the corner of my eye at the trio on the ground with one revenant having a broken leg and arm, barely standing.
"Didn't have time to be nice when you were pinned down." He informed me. "C'mon." He gave me a hand for me to grab on.
"Owie…" I muttered under my breath as the hole in my leg still felt like it had millions of papercuts and was showered with lemon juice and bleach.
Will I get an infection? Her blood fell on my wound once she was cut in half. Is there even an HIV that can affect revenants?
But at that moment, I felt a tug in my heart.
{ĦʊmĀɧ Pāïñ ฿৹ŢĦÊŔʂʘʍɘ}
My mind froze for a second as I felt a surreal cold feeling over my whole body which dissipated the pain but weirdly enough didn't numb any of my senses…
And I was shocked at such an event. What kind of ability was this? It was something else other than adrenaline, that's for sure!
I don't exactly feel like I can move a mountain, but I don't find the pain in my leg, it just disappeared… I know it is there, though… as I can feel… something? What???
However, there was one thing that occupied my head at that instance despite the questions that arose…
Excitement?
Happiness?
Curiosity?
Dread?
Terror?
Any of them?
The answer is…
NO
IT WAS THE AUDACITY OF THIS B!TCH TO HELP ONLY AFTER I FOUGHT FOR MY FU*KING-
"Phft-hahaha!" Yakumo's laughter took away my attention from my roommate of a c#nt. "Seriously, 'owie'?" He snickered.
"Ugh… let's just go deal with them and pick up Io and the girl back…" I will let it go this time, I have to deal with this properly if I want a future where I can actually enjoy this night-immortality of mine.
After a few oddly refreshing seconds of letting my wounds recover and everyone getting themselves some antidotes for the venom smokescreen that was finally gone, we made our way to the 'Self-important' revenant and one of his buddies that just woke up.
"You…" Despite seeing how we dispatched such a monster, he didn't try to hide his hostility. But at least his posture and mannerism told me he knew better than to act upon it.
Guess that getting his ass handed to him personally by one of us instead of the Butterfly doing it like in the game worked just fine.
"We will be taking the human with us," Louis stated as a matter of fact. No room for negotiation.
"Like hell you are! We can't just let you take our supply like that!" The man spoke with the same tone.
"The human has no owner, she has the same rights as you do." Yakumo was rather civil, although not pulling out the gat, he kept his grip on his Oni-Bane.
"Rights?" The man almost barked back, "humans? I get it. But Revenants?" He pointed at himself with a small chuckle as if he just heard the best joke of his life.
"We got kicked out of the grave to protect them against the Queen, day in and day out fighting monsters that we could become the very next day, each day wondering if I or other revenants will have to fight each other in an endless cycle of death and rebirth if we don't make ends meet." He stared at Louis right in the eye… "if they have to pay with just some blood, then they have a pretty damn good deal."
"Boss…" His one conscious lackey muttered behind him.
Yami scowled at the man, "... you talk about humans as if you weren't one before."
"I get it." My one single comment made everyone turn to me. Oliver and Yami were a bit surprised since I pretty much voiced the thought they didn't want to think about.
Louis looked at me with wide eyes while Yakumo seemed rather passive, almost as if waiting for me to continue.
"Necessity knows of no laws, especially when the place we are imprisoned is like this," I explained myself further.
The revenant would have his jaw hit the floor if his mask allowed him to.
"The red mist enclosing us, the miasma turning us into monsters, and the blood beads that have stopped sprouting and much more. There are plenty of problems, but those three are the most troublesome." I walked forward, right beside Louis.
"If you had a way to aid in solving even one of them, would you? Is the man in front of me here because of character or circumstances?" Although my question was directed at the revenant, I looked at Louis, not waiting for the former's response.
Louis gave me a deep gaze before signaling for Yami to give him our supplies. Our expedition leader then offered to the 'Self-Imprtant' revenant half of our blood bead supplies. "This should be enough to get you through two months, and if you really are one willing to change given the chance, head to the Cathedral."
"However, if all of you are this kind of people, you better make sure this is the last time we cross paths again. This is your one and only warning." Despite the coldness of his last statement, he offered the blood beads with his hand instead of just throwing them to the ground.
There was a short pause as the Revenant digested what just happened… "Kyle Alick." He introduced himself as he took the blood beads. "Hope you don't forget that name when I come to see if you are the real deal." He stated before helping up his partner and picking up his incapacitated lackey.
And just like that, they left.
"We should head back to see how Io is doing…" I said before walking to the cave that had plenty of webs around it, oddly enough the entrance itself wasn't blocked.
"Would you really?" Louis asked as he caught up with me.
"Yes," I answered with no hesitation. "If there are people who depend on me, I would."
There was a short uncomfortable silence as Louis took in my response.
"I will take responsibility for him if he really accepts the deal to make sure he does his part," I said to the silent revenant. This was my first opportunity at displaying more capabilities than that of a fighter. I will have to show that I'm a man of agency so when it comes down to it, I can count on them.
There are a few things I want to try out and I will need the help of these people.
"I understand." Not too surprisingly, Yakumo commented.
"What??" The researcher's head snapped towards him.
"All I said is that I understand…His comrades weren't strong nor were their blood codes, they lacked compatibility with their BOR Parasites…" But he didn't agree with the idea per se.
Although he lost his memories, Yakumo was a leader and also had a right-hand man of sorts, Riki. But that man was more of a rival than anything considering the number of times they butted heads. If the situation was dire, Riki wouldn't have trouble sacrificing the few for the many, that much was shown through the memories of Yakumo's vestiges.
Having such an opposite of himself always beside him would lead Yakumo to at least understand the other's perspective. Just like Riki sort of did with Yakumo before he died in his escape attempt with Yakumo's remaining squad from Juzo Mido's bunker.
"But considering such a scenario already is like admitting that I lost." Yami clicked his tongue, quite grumpy about the hypothetical that became a reality today.
"Which is why we are working this hard, so there is no need to even consider it." Ah, Oliver. Our sunshine in this gloomy day… night, actually.
"Yeah…" Yami seemed determined for a moment before deflating, "but, really, man? Half of our supplies??" He looked at Louis and me.
I looked at Yakumo but he didn't seem that mad like he was in the game, maybe Kyle having people to sustain softened his heart?
"If that means more help, then it isn't much," Louis stated.
"Blood beads are meant to be used, let it be." I waved off his glare.
"The bag is half empty!" Yami.
"The bag is half Full." Oliver.
"Tch! you all are FULL of sh!t," Yami grumbled.
With a snickering Yakumo, the mood lifted back up…
But good things don't last.
Once we entered the remnants of a government facility with a dried blood spring, we saw the human girl having a little standoff with a disarmed Io. Probably because she wanted to pacify the human and seem non-threatening.
Yikes!
The girl was in a much worse condition than I thought.
The color of her brown eyes was hardly distinguishable as plenty of blood vessels pulsated in her eyes. The dark bags under her weary eyes were pretty telling of her mental state.
Her slender body not due to her natural physic being such, but because of malnourishment, had many noticeable scars as they didn't have time or nutrients to heal.
The white-haired girl's eyes became solemn and calm when she finally saw us…
Oh no. I don't like that look. A gaze filled with resolution and even a hint of a sorrowful smile.
The group didn't need my hawk-like eyes to know this girl was at her witts end.
"No time for negotiations," I muttered so only my team could hear before stepping forward.
The girl simply gazed at me as she leveled her curved sword at her own throat. Looks like she managed to convince Io to give it to her.
I responded in kind. My lance cut the air as I leveled it to my own throat, its sharp tip poking my neck.
I saw the confusion in her eyes for a second.
"Huff…I'm actually doing this." Taking a small breath as the grip on my weapon became stronger, I thrusted-
*Tchssss*
The sound of my blood spurting out of the hole in my neck was revered within the soundless facility. My blood spilled onto a certain dead white tree. But not for long as it began to gain life again.
The dim walls of this old structure were brilliant once again for the time being.
Such a beautiful light show caught her for a moment. By the moment she realized I had come to arm's length, it was too late.
"It's been hard, isn't it?" I asked as gently as I could, patting her head.
There was a momentary pause as she couldn't even understand what I did. No aggressiveness nor force was used to stop her, just my one hand to console her.
"Ah…warm?-" Her raspy voice was cut short as her body finally gave out. She immediately collapsed into my arms. Although it left a bitter taste in my mouth to see the girl like this, I was glad I didn't have to knock her out.
But the girl was almost weightless… how did she survive?
She was too worn down to even notice the fact that she was holding the curved blade wrong, the blunt side was on her throat, not the edge. This is also the reason nobody questioned my decision.
Time was of the essence now.
"She needs treatment, now." I expressed to Louis who has just dropped his solution onto the tree to get an approximate of our next destination.
Everyone got to work quickly.
While Io came to check my neck, the rest quickly seized the blood beads.
"We will use the mistle." I took the girl after giving my weapons to Io.
"We don't know if traveling through the mistle is safe for humans…" Louis' comment wasn't a rebuttal, just a statement filled with exasperation.
We might be superhumans and cross miles in mere minutes, but the path to the Cathedral is hindered by canyons and monsters. Add on to the fact that we have a human with us, we will attract unwanted attention from Lost and revenants alike.
I sighed, "I don't care if she grows an arm for this and comes to hate me, as long as she is alive while doing it."
…
An offer to help…
The red mist keeps them jailed in a destroyed city, slowly running out of resources. There are revenants turning into Lost because of miasma and this creates a vicious cycle of creating more monsters the more revenants fight back. And blood springs drying up, causing the remaining revenants to fight each other to keep their sanity.
An offer in which he could find a solution to one of those three problems.
'Must be about solving the blood beads shortage…' Kyle contemplated.
There was a reason Louis gave him that many blood beads, it wasn't just generosity, but just telling him with his actions which problem they could solve. The one reason why Adam didn't directly say it is because he wouldn't want a rumor to spread around, for it to reach less than-ideal individuals who would do whatever it takes to exploit such resources.
Kyle could tell that much. To keep his mouth shut and see it for himself.
"Are we really taking the offer?" A revenant asked.
"That mas was the real crimson sword, his word has some weight to it. Considering we are not ashes, that offer seems to be real." Kyle explained.
"I thought they would be some bastards who would take the human away with some noble act, thankfully, I was wrong!" The revenant who had just woken up commented.
The fire, crimson blade, and how Louis talked about the cathedral just proved his identity. Everyone knows to not get close to that place.
"We will see what we can salvage of our old hideout and after getting a temporary settlement, I will see if he talks the truth."
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Word Count: 3,671
Sorry for not uploading in a while, been busy playing Deadspace 1 & 2.
Anyhow, writing a Boss fight is hard…
Also, in case it went over your head, Adam is wearing a mask with tinted glass so his eyes don't put off anyone. Which was helpful today, huh?
