13 - Discreet (1.11k words)

╔═══ Author's note ════╗This chapter contains gore and sensitive content.╚═════════════════╝First screams sliced through the darkness, sharp and disbelieving, as the villagers sought shelter from the looming threat. These initial cries of alarm quickly cascaded into a torrent of panic.The thud of hurried footsteps, the clatter of hastily gathered weapons, and the slamming of doors punctuated the night.Female's wails, raw and frightened, clung to the night, seeking comfort in the midst of chaos. Their cries, pure and piercing, tugged at my heartstrings.As the scorpions drew closer, the cries did not diminish but grew in strength and number.The world before me transformed instantly thanks to the night and thermal vision mask from my backpack; the once impenetrable darkness now lit up with the heat signatures of the living and the cold outlines of the inanimate.I reached over my shoulder to the sheaths strapped across my back under my vest. The twin machetes, my silent companions through countless dangers, slid from their resting places with a whisper.Armored hoodie adjusted, the machetes now in hand, I turned my gaze once more to the horizon.From beneath the earth came a sound — first a mere whisper. Then, it grew, a crescendo of clicks and scrapes against the compacted sand.Suddenly, the ground itself seemed to breathe, exhaling a mass of shadow that writhed and convulsed. From this dark maelstrom, a scorpion emerged. Its carapaces, armored plates forged from the night itself, glistened under the moon's gaze.Its pincers, massive and unyielding, snapped the air with the promise of death, while its tail arched, swaying above its body like a dark banner of war. Its relentless clicking filled the air, a symphony of doom that echoed across the village.With nothing but the cold wind and the coarse sand beneath my boots, I faced the behemoth with a resolve forged from the fires of my own trials. The scorpion, its carapace glistening under the moonlight, seemed an insurmountable foe. Yet, within me, a plan simmered, a spark waiting to ignite.As the scorpion charged, its tail arched for a deadly strike, I moved with the grace of the night wind. I slid beneath the creature, the sand parting around me. In one fluid motion, I targeted the scorpion's underbelly, the only part of its armor not impervious to harm.In that fleeting moment of confusion, I found an opening. With a cry born from my soul, I lunged, thrusting my blade upward.A hiss, sharp and angry, spilled from the monster's maw. Its tail arched, the venomous tip seeking my flesh, yet I held firm.Fucking rapists...With my blade embedded in the creature's soft underside, I dragged it forward, slashing the beast from belly to throat.Its innards spilled out in a rush of blood, splattering the ground.As the scorpion crumpled to the ground, my cry filled the night, "You fucking waste of air! I hope you burn in hell!"The beast twitched once and stilled, its lifeblood soaking the sand.From the dark maelstrom that was its home came another. Like a shark scenting blood, it sensed my presence, the battle before it.Another appeared, and then another, until a host of scorpions surrounded me.One by one, they fell to my blades, their bodies littering the sand.When the scorpions began to change into their human form, I used my foot to crush their handsome faces into a pool of blood, crushing their skulls into it.Damn, why does every world have such filth?! Fucking bastards, I swear I will kill them all!!With the machetes in hand, I swung them at the dead bodies. The sounds of their severed limbs hitting the ground were like music to my ears.I landed on my feet and turned to find another scorpion-slash human fucker. He looked at his severed arms in horror, the blood spurting and spraying like a geyser."I told you, didn't I?""Ahhh!"The scorpion fell to its knees, screaming."Die..."I cut off his head."Fucking rapist."I cut the man's cock off, then stabbed him in the eyes."I will make sure every one of you fucking bastards die. Even if you are a scorpion, your human skull will look good in my collection!"I cut the fucker's head off.Then I cut another's cock off, then stabbed him in the eyes."Fuckers."I cut off their balls and shoved them into their mouths.I turned away from the marred dead bodies.There were no words, no amount of words, that could ever express how much hatred I felt for those creatures.They were a plague, a scourge, a pestilence that had to be exterminated.And I would see them eradicated.Even if it cost me my life."I can sense another female's scent at the back of the village!" I heard a voice from above and looked up. Those flying rats again. The only thing they did was watch and do reports all day. I cursed under my breath as I quickly left the crime scene. Wiping the machetes with a towel from my backpack, I tucked them back behind my vest. Holding the bloody towel in my hand."Hey, female! Don't run that way! There are two ferals!" One of the flying rats tried to warn me."I'm fine! You should focus on saving other females!" I called out, quickening my pace.The eagle flew down and morphed into a male, who I couldn't even bother to look at."It's you!" The flying rat called out in surprise, following beside me, "How did you get there from the Racoons' village so fast? Did the feral snake take you here?"This pesky guy talks too much! Yet, he was the most informed one about the happenings around the vicinity. So, when I overheard him mention another swarm of scorpions heading to this village, I urged Curtis to run as quickly as he could, but that Dickhead had to interrupt us midway."My precious Yaya, you dropped this along the way," I heard the annoying voice again, emerging from behind the tree where Curtis waited silently.At the sight of the flying rat, Curtis twitched his tail and sent it soaring through the air.Dickhead got on his knees like a knight and attached two heavy weights around my ankles, each one 150 kg, then he grabbed my wrists and secured another 75 kg to each, to make my movements appear more like a human, "Your father mentioned you ought to be more discreet in your actions, lest it alert people it shouldn't."