'One... two.'
Carnage's gaze slid past the boy's shoulder, catching the glint of the two swords strapped across his back.
'And with the girl...an empty glass bottle.'
Carnage assessed them, the boy returning the look with equally sharp eyes, yet still, he isn't reaching for his weapon, a gesture that solidifies Carnage's beliefs.
'He doesn't see us as a threat.'
"I'm the historian!" Nullen says first, loud enough for them to hear. "Nullen!"
"I…I'm the physician, and my name is Flor!" The girl shouts back hesitantly, followed by a silence as both their gazes shift between Carnage and the boy.
'I can feel the intensity from here.' Nullen thinks fearfully.
"Keybearer. Carnage." He states, stone-faced.
The mysterious green-eyed boy sighs. "Heron, the protector."
With each of their names revealed and their temporary persona, the initial intensity dismantles, though the trust is no way among them, all of them stil regrading each other as a potential betrayal in waiting.
"U suppose you arrived in there?" Nullen inquires, gesturing to the church.
"Yeah!" The physician nods shyly. "Not quite the arrival spot, what about you?"
"A tavern," Nullen says.
'We shouldn't waste time here.' Carnage scans the area, the unnerving feel of dread gradually reappearing in the form of goosebumps.
"Behind me." The protector mutters softly, hand extending to his back, wrapping along the hilt of his sword as he yanks it free from its sheath.
Everyone's eyes drift to the street where Carnage and Nullen had just come from. A woman with long midnight hair walks towards them, her feet dragging along the stone, creating a trail of blood behind.
"Bloody hell, she scared me."
'This dread...is it due to her?'
A tremor passes through Carnage's body; though he had long lost the ability to fear during his centuries of torture, it didn't stop his new vessel from reacting.
'But why?'
He eyes her closely while the rest back away, their bodies following their minds' response.
"Miss—" Before Carnage can begin, her mouth opens and a scream pierces the air, yet her expression stays the same, deadpanned and emotionless.
"For fuck's sake...?" Nullen utters concernedly.
Carnage stands still as a rock, waiting for whatever's to come.
Her screams echo until they abruptly cease the moment she pauses a few feet away from them. The sinners watches in frozen horror as the skin of her face peels, dropping in clumps to the cobblestones.
"Oh my." Flor gags, shifting closer to Heron.
Her hair sheds in tangled strands, and her limbs begin to swell, contort, and elongate grotesquely. Flesh sloughs off in sickening layers as her bones crack and twist, each snap rippling through the silence.
No one dares move a single inch.
'It's a…'
Carnage's eyes narrow.
'Skinwalker!'
「Demonic beast grade: D (Tormented)」
「Power level: 100」
"Get behind me now!" Heron shouts as he slides into a stance.
Nullen and Flor waste no time in complying with his orders, petrified as the skinwalker continues its transformation.
Carnage, on the other hand, stays in his original position, his wrapped palms balling tightly around the shard of glass.
"What in the world are you doing?!" Heron screams behind him.
'They think I'm going to follow the roles or persona given to us? The strongest doesn't survive by being guarded.'
Everyone grimaces as it finishes.
Long, black limbs with barely any flesh clinging to them. Its back rose in jagged mounds, ribs jutting through the skin. The head no longer resembled anything human as horns burst from its skull, curling into the air.
"Tsk!" Heron's jaw clenches as he joins Carnage's side. "I would like to think you know how to handle yourself in combat." He unsheathes his next sword, passing it to him.
Carnage gives a short nod, letting the glass fall and takes the sword instead, his grip tightening around the hilt, knuckles whitening.
He may have forgotten most of his experiences in combat and sword mastery, but he can vaguely recall the basics: keep your eyes on the target, never let your stance falter, and let the blade feel like an extension of your body rather than a tool.
'If I follow what i remember i should hold up just fine.'
From its warped frame erupts a screech. Then, like a beast unleashed, it charges on all fours, the ground shaking beneath its approach.
"Brace yourself!" Heron yells as the skinwalker lunges.
Carnage's instincts surge, his newly wielded sword slicing through the air in a desperate arc, meeting the beast's snapping jaws with a clang of steel. The skinwalker snarls, its other arm whipping with unnatural speed to him.
'Another attack!'
Before he can react, Heron dashes forward to his aid, blade flashing as he intercepts the creature's swipe, sparks flying as sword meets claw.
"This thing is exceptional." Heron hisses, struggling with his parry.
'He's fast... His form and sword maneuvers are good too.'
Flor and Nullen, knowing they'll only be a nuisance, scramble behind a broken cart placed at the side of the old church, clutching what little they have to protect themselves.
'Enough about others. I need to do better...' Carnage pivots, his grip steady despite his rusty skills. 'I must do better.'
Slashes upwards, he aims for the ribs jutting like broken branches along the skinwalker's back. The creature howls, a nasty wound of agony etched across its monstrous visage, but it presses on relentlessly.
'If I can't defeat this. Then, my revenge is worthless to me. My suffering and persistence mean nothing, and to me…it's everything.'
Heron becoming free as the beast trashes around, circles left, forcing the skinwalker to split its attention.
With a burst, his body shimmers a gentle green as he drives his sword deep into the creature's side, twisting sharply. The skinwalker reels, black blood spilling onto the cobblestones.
"Gotcha!" He smirks, sweat gliding down his face.
'Right there... an opening.'
Carnage seizes the moment, lunging forward, blade aimed for the throat, but the skinwalker lashes out, catching his arm mid run, causing a pop to encapsulate the air.
"That's the soun of a dislocation!" The physician says from the side.
Carnage, stone-faced doesn't yell but yanks free, readjusting his hold, and snapping his shoulder back into place, presuming his attack, by driving his sword deep with precision.
The beast staggers, a guttural growls vibrating from its grotesque figure. It scrambled backward on all fours, rage blazing in its eyes as blood pools beneath it.
"Keep it on the defensive!" Heron barks, charging again with determination.
Carnage meets him, their movements synchronized despite the slippery blood. The two blades dance, trading slashes as the skinwalker fights back with desperation.
The air fills with the clash of steel and the beast's screeches. Dust and blood coat the ground, mixing with the scent of sweat and decay.
Suddenly, the skinwalker lunges high, claws slashing toward Carnage's chest. He exhales a breath, shifting to the side slightly it's claws redirecting to his right shoulder, slicing into his skin.
"Carnage!" Nullen flies up.
"Oh no!" Flor gasps, and Heron's eyes widen.
'I've felt my fair chance of pain... I've been broken, hanged, drowned and eaten alive, so this doesn't affect me.'
Carnage, burning like a scorching flame, ignites in pure, raw determination, bringing his sword down hard onto the creature's wrist, slicing it clean off.
"Now!!"
Heron swiftly refocuses, his blade cutting into the beast's exposed flank, driving it to its knees.
Carnage, battered and bleeding, steps in for the final strike as the skinwalker's growl turns into a fading whimper.
'I will not fall in another hell, never again. Instead I'll use its inhabitantsand trials to carry me back to heaven.'
With a roar, Carnage drives his sword through the creature's chest. The beast convulses, then collapses, lifeless.
Silence falls heavy, broken only by the ragged breaths of the victors and chimes of The Covenant.
「You have defeated a skinwalker: 1/6!」
「Monster's demonic core collected!」
'I...did it.'
Heron lowers his sword, nodding in respect.
Carnage wipes his chin; instead, he creates a small trail of blood, his eyes cold but alert as he nods back.
Flor and Nullen cautiously emerge, relief washing over their faces.
"You guys survived."
Flor advances closer, looking intently at the wound past his ripped clothes. "I need to look at that!"
"Be my guest."
Gently she temper and moves the flesh around the flesh. "Looks like a surface wound; a bottle of basic healing should be enough."
Taking off his shirt, Flor directly pours it on his raw flesh, and it illuminates with a light blue before closing up on its own.
"There, that's it." She smiles.
"Thanks."
"What now?" The protector questions.
"We need to find the rest," Nullen says, closing his eyes, activating his artifact. "Come on, we've got a bit to go until we meet them."