by Wolfe Locke
Even in the haze, there was one sight that Seraph could make out clearly. A low blue ambient light could be seen reflecting off the metal chairs and the melted plastics that had dripped onto the floor. The source of the light seemed to be an impossible computer kiosk set up against the counter, powered by the magic of the dungeon rather than any electricity. The kiosk shone the blue light from its screen, and a sign above the kiosk reading “Information,” cast long shadows against the wall.
As both of them approached the impossible kiosk, Seraph’s heart skipped a beat, and a smile spread across his face as he got close. This was luck beyond what he had expected, though he had hoped for it. This was no information hub. He had found the ability shop—or at least what appeared to be a way to buy abilities.
Approaching the blue screen, Seraph saw an icon in the lower right-hand corner that read “Sol: 4960”. He was right; this was the ability shop. Seraph’s arms shot out in excitement, anxious to pour through the offerings and take the best ones for himself.
Before Seraph was able to choose anything, a hand grabbed his shoulder, causing him to startle. Full of adrenaline and excitement, he turned around, his blades at the ready, prepared to defend himself. It was just Paul; Seraph’s nerves were getting the better of him. Seraph thought his response was unusual. With his newly acquired Abyssal Body, it would be a challenge for him to take critical or permanent damage. Any harm to his body would quickly heal. Yet, here he was, excessively startled because of nerves. This was a weakness of his; new was not something Seraph adjusted to quite as well as he thought.
"Well, Seraph," Paul whispered as he moved closer, looking at the screen. "Maybe this was a good idea, after all." When Paul moved past Seraph, Seraph saw the numbers on the kiosk change, reading “Sol: 0860”.
“Not bad at all,” commented Paul, forgetting to keep his voice hushed. “I think I can find something with that. I had thought I spent all of my money on replacement equipment after I killed that Gigas by myself, but apparently saving you from the Abyssal gave me a decent monetary reward.”
Responding to the noise, two monsters limped out of the bathroom in the back of the lobby’s seating area. The movement of the monsters was spastic, stiff, and awkward like that of the undead, but from what Seraph could see of them, they did not appear to be undead.
Each monster had arms as long as their bodies. Their skin was loose and sagging as both muscle and fat jiggled. Hands with nails inches long, brown, dirty, and curved dragged across the floor. They were disfigured, looking more like talons than nails. Each monster's head was just as marred, covered in long white hair that hung down their backs. Dilated dark pupils that were difficult to see sat underneath folds of fat and puffy tissue. Their jaws sat oddly on the underside of their skull as if broken and healed wrong.
Seraph watched as the one nearest to him opened its jaw at an impossible angle, displaying a mouth full of decaying sharp teeth. Seraph was positive; the monster was capable of severing limbs with a single bite. Each of the monster’s abdomens distended and bloated—a putrid combination of overeating and chronic malnourishment—while the legs of the monster appeared gaunt and trimmed with dense muscle.
Most disturbing of all was that they appeared to be humanoid, suggesting that they had, at least at one time, used to be something like human—the shredded outfits they wore all but proving it. The one closest to Seraph wore a threadbare, stained T-shirt. Seraph was positive; if the threat hadn’t been so heavily damaged, he would have been able to read a motivational yoga quote. Something to match the “Welcome to Beach City” T-shirt the other wore.
"Be careful, Paul, those arms aren't just for show, and neither are those jaws,” cautioned Seraph as he squared up against the monster nearest to him, leaving Paul to fend off the other. Seraph would be more careful in this fight. Now that he knew the after-effects of his Cold Hands ability, Seraph was reluctant to use it—except in emergencies as a weapon of last resort. In close quarters, he was just as likely to harm Paul as he was the enemy. By the same logic, Seraph doubted he could use the Starfall ability to blind the monsters.
Armed only with his Cat’s Claw, Seraph moved to close the gap between him and the monster, an idea coming to him as he mentally activated his Thousand Handed ability to summon ethereal arms, dismissing the summoned arms just as quickly as he summoned them. The sudden appearance of the glowing limbs had distracted the monster long enough for Seraph to dash forward and attempt to sever its head in one swipe. The creature furiously responded by opening its large mouth, trying to catch Seraph's arm. Seeing the monster preparing to bite down, Seraph was forced to adjust his swing to avoid getting his arm caught in its jaws. The blow meant to sever its neck instead carved through the monster’s bottom jaw. The force of Seraph’s strike broke bone on impact, partially severing large portions of the monster’s jaw from its body.
His father was equally successful; Paul had managed to dodge under the thing’s arms when it had tried to attack him. Using his off-hand to block a swipe by the monster with his shield while counterattacking with his sword in an uppercut, he cleanly cut through the monster’s arm at the elbow.
Busy as he was with his own fight, Seraph screamed at Paul when he saw the man move in to get close to finish off the monster. “Watch out for the jaws!” But Seraph’s warning didn’t come quickly enough. Paul had been so hyper-focused on avoiding the monster’s claws that he had left himself open to other attacks. He wasn’t expecting the thing’s jaws to be able to open like they did, and when they did, the monster caught his arm in his shield, biting all the way down, breaking through the layers of protection, biting through flesh and bone. The bite severed his hand, leaving only a nub of mangled arm bleeding freely.
With a sense of pride, Seraph saw that even though Paul screamed in pain, the man didn’t stop fighting. Even in agony, Paul didn’t hesitate to use his right hand to drive his sword straight through the monster’s nasal cavity, stabbing straight into its brain. The strike killed the monster instantly, but even in death, it continued to attack him. Its arms and talons shredded Paul’s back as he tried to retreat, fighting against the last electrical impulses and commands of the dead monster. When it dropped to the floor, so did Paul.
At the death of its partner, the remaining monster appeared to become enraged, growing to twice its size as its body began to twitch. Letting out an otherworldly scream, it flailed its arms around, trying to kill both of them. Seraph narrowly avoided the blows as he tried to direct its attention away from his collapsed father and back toward him.
But worse still was to come. In the distance, the monster's scream was matched again and again and again by the same sound. Seraph’s blood ran cold, knowing they were in trouble. It was time to end this fight. Dropping back for a second, Seraph allowed the monster’s attention to firmly land on Paul—despite his attempts to get its attention. An opportunity had presented itself. Seraph meant to make the most of it as he launched himself forward, embedding the blades of the Cat’s Claw into the monster’s lower back, twisting and severing its lumbar spine. The monster collapsed, unable to use its legs, and losing control of most of its body.
Seraph didn’t bother to take the time to admire his work. In one powerful swing, he decapitated the monstrosity, its head landing at his feet. Finished, Seraph looked over at Paul and saw his pale, ashen face.
Aww, fuck! Seraph thought, fearing the worst.
Chapter 17: A Father's Sacrifice
* * *
“Sorry, kiddo. I think it got me good,” said Paul weakly, his words slurring as he lay collapsed on the ground, holding the stump where his arm had been, trying to staunch the bleeding. Blood was spilling underneath him from the multiple lacerations on his back.
Seraph wanted to help him but couldn’t, not yet. Not while he could hear the screams of multiple monsters coming their way. Though he could not judge just by the sound, he knew it was many. Seraph needed to prepare if they were to survive, and sometimes survival
required triage.
Reaching into his spacial pocket, Seraph pulled out the last of his gauze and the pain pills he had found during the tutorial. Bending down, he handed them to Paul, hoping it would be enough.
“I need you to take these pills, and can you apply the gauze to your wound?” asked Seraph. It wasn’t a request as much as a declaration, but Paul’s survival depended on the answer being yes. Seraph wanted his father to survive this. Seraph needed Paul to survive. He needed people willing to challenge his impulses—someone that Seraph would realistically never kill in disagreement. Somebody who disagreed with him.
“Just survive, OK?” Seraph said, not waiting for an answer as he laid both hands on the monster in an attempt to activate his Abyssal Touch ability on the monster he had killed. Rapidly, though not as quickly as Seraph wanted, the body disappeared into glowing amber energy that encircled his hands and ran around his body.
Notification: Monster Identified - “Hunger” Mutated Humanoid. Weakness to fire, strong against ice. Tough skin. Razor-sharp teeth. Limited Intelligence.
“That is useful,” admitted Seraph begrudgingly as he dismissed the prompt.
Notification: Organic Matter - “Hunger” has been converted into healing energy. This energy cannot be saved or stored and quickly dissipates.
Perfect. This should help him, thought Seraph. He knew he couldn’t celebrate yet, not with the sounds of monsters getting louder as they closed the distance, moving closer. But this, this small victory, deserved a smile.
Wary and not wanting to waste the energy, Seraph ran back to his father. Paul was still stirring on the ground, clutching his bleeding arm. Though much of the bleeding had stopped due to the application of the gauze, it had not been enough to completely stop the flow of blood. Seraph noticed in just that span of seconds, the man was already noticeably paler.
Seraph was worried. That Paul was still bleeding at all was a concern that needed his attention, but it was not something Seraph could give currently. It meant the magic of the dungeon had not yet begun to heal the man. Which could only mean that the hungers they heard were now close enough to interfere with the magic and prevent regeneration. This was further complicated by Seraph having exhausted his limited medical supplies. Neither had any other items or medical gear that they could use.
And that’s why I’m trying this, thought Seraph as he laid his hands on Paul and let the healing energy that he had absorbed from the body of the hunger flow through him. Redirecting it into the man, he forced it to trail along with Paul’s injuries, willing the body to heal.
Holding the position steady, Seraph lay his hands across Paul’s chest and poured all the healing energy into him, leaving nothing left to heal himself with, but from Paul, there was no response; nothing happened. The glowing amber light parted from Seraph’s fingertips and disappeared into the air, wasted.
Notification: Error - The healing energy provided by Abyssal Touch can only be applied to “Self.” All current healing energy has been lost.
Internally, Seraph screamed in frustration at the situation, but he kept it internal, not wanting to cause Paul to panic. As if in answer to his frustrations from all around the building, he could hear the howls and screams of all the nearby hungers searching around. Some of the sounds came from nearby and some from farther away. Regardless, Seraph knew what the sound meant: the monsters were searching for the humans they wanted to feast on.
He needed more information. Seraph allowed his senses to fade except for his hearing, and he heard the casual shuffling of feet, not pursuing footsteps. The hungers hadn’t yet fixated on their exact location. Seraph and Paul would have a few minutes, at least, before they were found.
In a situation like this, all they could do was prioritize and hope for the best. As far as Seraph could tell, the two of them had no means of escape, and while he did not know how many of the monsters would be outside, Seraph could guess by the vibrations coming through the ground. The monster's numbers were clearly numerous enough that Seraph and Paul would not be able to run away and escape.
Likewise, with Paul’s current physical condition being critical, they would be unable to fight their way to safety. Leaving them with one of two options. Seraph could escape by himself and leave Paul to die, or he could try to hunker down and use the environment to try and get control over the difference in numbers and defend the man.
He immediately discarded the first option; Seraph could not condemn his father to die. Not for a plan that might not even be successful. This left only the second option, but two issues remained. The first issue at hand that Seraph needed to deal with was the immediate need to find a way to provide care to his father. Though he had long since discarded the mace he had been given during the tutorial, Seraph still had the carrier loop the mace had been secured with. Seraph quickly tore it off and grabbed Paul’s arm.
“This should stop the rest of the bleeding. You did good using the gauze to seal up everything else,” Seraph complimented, trying to get his father to communicate. The man stirred, but Seraph realized he was unconscious. If Seraph was not able to get him ambulatory care soon, his father would likely die. He would be responsible for his father’s death a second time, and Seraph would break his promise to himself to keep the man alive.
With brutal efficiency, Seraph was able to wake Paul up after slapping his face a few times and rubbing his sternum.
“You need to stay awake. More of those monsters, the hungers, are coming,” Seraph commanded, trying to force alertness on the man, his irritation trying to mask his fear for Paul. He was growing angry with their desperate situation. “Stay alive.”
Seraph gave a quick look to inspect his work before heading off. He noticed that it seemed to have stopped most of the bleeding, working in tandem with the gauze already applied. It would have to do for now until he was able to find something better to work with or until he was able to get his father out of here.
One of two saving graces the two of them had currently was that the information center only had one entrance. At least, that they had found so far. Seraph had no reason to believe that there would be any other entrance as the reception area they were in seemed enclosed entirely.
The other saving grace was that the hunger appeared to be of low to dim intelligence. The swollen and engorged monsters may have appeared to have once been human, but whatever intelligence these humans had once possessed seemed to have abandoned them once they became these monsters. Seraph would have to exploit that.
Still, Seraph knew it didn't matter if there was only one entrance to the welcome center or if the hungers possessed little intelligence. With the sheer number of monsters he could hear milling around the building, he knew they were in trouble. The very walls shook as the surrounding monsters pressed against the building.
Seraph knew that soon one or two would find the door inside. All it would take was one monster to find them. He assumed the hungers were like most monsters; all it took was one to alert the rest. Judging by the sound, every hunger in the area was swarming around the outside of the building and the nearby grounds. Even if both he and Paul were still of full health and armaments, Seraph found it unlikely that this was a fight they could win.
Seraph’s mind was moving at a frantic pace, and an idea took hold. They desperately needed something they could use, something that could be placed as a blockage or used as a weapon. Even just a place to hide. The blue light of the ability shop kiosk distracted him for a second—the entire reason the two men were here in the first place.
With a burst of motivation, Seraph reached out and grabbed his barely conscious father. Dragging him and propping him up on the ability kiosk. A new reading appeared for Paul on the bottom corner of the screen. “Sol: 1060”.
Seraph was unsure of what abilities would be offered. He only hoped that his father would be able to acquire something to help them in their current situation. He was hoping that both of them had enough Sol on hand to spend.
�
�Dad,” he urged, shaking the man awake—breaking the rule that Paul had asked of him. “I’m sorry to have to do this. You’ve been hurt badly and need medical attention, and I can’t give that to you here. I need to go try and hold off the monsters as long as I can. I’m going to try and barricade the door.”
Paul looked at him, his eyes glossy and weak from the loss of blood. He could only grunt, not saying anything. Seraph took Paul’s grunts as confirmation that he understood what Seraph was asking of him. At least, Seraph hoped he knew.
“I need you to stay awake. Find something on that kiosk. I wish I could give you better guidance, but we are almost out of time. I need you to figure it out. I know you're struggling, but you can do this. Just stay awake; don't give up." Seraph could only hope his words helped his father to find some reserves of strength to pull from; he would need it.
With nothing left to say, Seraph placed his father's almost lifeless and freezing hands onto the ability kiosk and ran down the hall.
From the outside, Seraph could hear the sound of the hungers dragging their arms, their talons scraping across the asphalt. The groans and the yelling of the hungers was getting louder. As he ran down the hall, he groaned as he saw the entryway door was still open. He was thankful that he did so as he saw no sign of the gluttons, though he could hear them.