"Hey…"
『What's up?』
As I headed toward the morgue, Eveline floating beside me, I grabbed a potted plant from the side. Might come in handy.
"The deputy's body… was it just me, or was it covered in mold?"
『Not your imagination. It was spreading from his caved-in head.』
"…So that's how Molded are made."
I don't wanna end up like that. I glanced at my left hand, crudely stapled but fully functional, blood flowing to my fingertips. I'm no doctor, but this healing's unnatural. Same with my foot—no drug works that fast. It's like Jack, surviving broken necks and headshots…
『Ethan, we're here.』
"Guh! …What is this place?"
Picking up shotgun shells and herbs, I entered the morgue. A caged arena greeted me, with a pillar of stacked lumber at the center, surrounded by dangling meat sacks. Like the cage match in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man…
『Totally a trap to drop you in.』
"No one's dumb enough to fall for that…"
Muttering, I climbed the stairs to a walkway overlooking the arena. The door to the dissection room was open, so I slipped inside to check.
『Ugh…』
"…Grim."
The deputy's body hung on the wall, coated in black mold, most of his head gouged out. When did they move him from the garage? Thinking back, after Jack stomped through, the body vanished. Something grabbed it during the fight?
"…Nothing useful here… just some first-aid fluid. I'll mix it with the herb."
『You're calmer than I expected.』
"Oh, I'm pissed. Boiling inside."
Next time I see Jack, a punch won't cut it. I'll end this. Back in the morgue, I shoved aside meat sacks to search. Above the caged arena, the final Cerberus relief hung, tied with barbed wire.
"…Obvious trap."
『Super obvious trap.』
"Watch my back."
『Got it.』
I grabbed the relief, carefully avoiding the barbed wire's thorns, and peeled it free. A presence loomed behind me.
『Ethan!』
"Hah!"
"Guh?!"
I swung my left arm up, smashing the potted plant into the intruder's face and turning. Jack staggered back, clutching his reddened nose, axe in hand. I blasted him with the shotgun.
"Guoooh! Ethan, you bastard! How many times you gonna break my nose?!"
『Third time? Fourth if you count the shovel neck-snap.』
"Until it stays broken!"
I stowed the shotgun, pulled the broken shotgun from my backpack, and swung it two-handed, full force, into Jack's head. He stumbled but roared, eyes wild, charging with both arms raised.
"Raaah!"
"Your cheap tricks are pathetic!"
『This is brutal.』
I rolled aside, tripping him with my leg, sending him crashing into the cage below. Swapping the broken shotgun for the real one, I loaded four shells and unloaded them into him.
"Guh! Goh! Gih! Gehh! Ethan, you dirty—!"
"Who fights fair in a deathmatch? Here's a bonus!"
"Gaaah!"
『You're going way too far…』
I ripped down a meat sack and hurled it, crushing Jack as he groaned. Dragging a nearby desk, I kicked it into the pit, the crash echoing. Eveline clutched her head, but this was better than a fair fight, right?
"Roooaaar!"
"Huh?"
『Oh no!』
"Nuaaaah!"
『Ethaaaan!』
Jack slashed through the cage with his axe, pulling out a modified scissor-like chainsaw and revving it. He hacked the platform's supports, and the slanting floor sent me tumbling into the arena. The blood-soaked chainsaw had clearly tasted countless victims.
"Face it, Ethan! You're not escaping!"
"Finally got your big line out, huh, Jack?"
"No way, you damn fool!"
As Jack charged, I kicked a hanging meat sack with all my strength, staggering him, then slammed the shotgun into his face.
"Die already, Jack!"
『He's probably thinking the same thing.』
"I'm gonna see what's inside you, Ethan. Got it?"
"You serious?!"
"Heh, heh… Cool, right?"
Jack laughed, shattering the central pillar with one swing. I backed up—no way the shotgun blocks that.
"Scared, huh? Why not give up?"
"Mind your own business, Jack!"
『Ethan! There's another one!』
"Nice work!"
Eveline pointed to a normal chainsaw in the torn cage. I dove under Jack's horizontal swing, grabbed it, and revved it. Not as fancy as his, but it'll do.
"No choice, damn it!"
"That's it, boy! Here's a lesson: you think we're even, but you're already dead! Hee-hee!"
His scissor-chainsaw clashed with mine, sparks flying. Screw it—guns might not work, but this could, if it hits!
"Having fun?"
"I'd rather pass, Jack!"
"You die here!"
"Probably!"
『Don't give up!』
Grrriiing! Clang! Our chainsaws clashed, knocking me back. My hands went numb—no fatal hits, but I was losing ground. Jack charged, swinging horizontally.
"Die and be done with it!"
『Ethan! You can't take that hit! It's your tenth time!』
"Tenth what?!"
"What're you talking about?!"
I ducked, dodging as Eveline's shout distracted Jack. I slashed his leg with the chainsaw, toppling him. Standing, I swung down at his head. He blocked with his scissor-chainsaw, but I powered through, splitting it and his head.
"Woooaargh!"
"Gross!"
『…Sorry, Jack.』
His upper body morphed into a fleshy, face-covered orb. I pressed the chainsaw in, fluids spraying as he weakened. Finish it…!
"Raaah!"
"Gyaaah!"
It exploded. Jack's lower half stood on healed legs, then collapsed, spent.
"Hah… hah… I won… He's finally dead, right?"
『Probably… Ugh, we made it…』
"Finally?"
I glanced at Eveline's heavy sigh. Flashbacks hit—my head split by an axe, carved up by Jack's chainsaw, limbs severed, beheaded in despair…
"…What?"
『N-never mind! Let's escape!』
"Y-yeah…"
Urged by Eveline, I used the chainsaw to cut the door's bolt, snapping the blade. Figures.
"Still good as a club…"
『It's dead weight—drop it!』
Eveline stopped me hard. Why not?
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