Hiro the Spider
Episode 2 — Web of Blood
The Omega Slums were already hell. But when the ground split and that roar ripped through the air, the place went from hell to something worse—like hell had overdosed on steroids.
The pit gushed out light and black smoke that twisted into claws. Concrete melted like wax, neon signs fizzed out one by one, and a beast clawed its way up.
It was the size of a damn skyscraper. A churning mass of meat, bone, and jagged steel welded into flesh. Its eyes burned red, its maw a grinder of teeth gnashing on rust and screams.
The HUD flashed overhead:
[World Beast Detected. Kill for +5 Levels.]
Hiro laughed, low and unhinged. "Oh, fuck me sideways… now that's a monster."
Around him, combatants panicked. Some heroes banded together, forming walls of glowing shields and firing beams. Villains went berserk, unleashing black fire and storms of blades. The slums collapsed further, skyscrapers bending inward like gravity lost its damn mind.
Hiro? He just rolled his shoulders and spat blood onto the ground.
"Guess dinner's served."
⸻
Chaos Erupts
The beast swung a claw the size of a subway train, smashing through a block of screaming fighters. The impact alone shredded half a dozen into red mist.
[6 Eliminated.]
The survivors scattered. Hiro didn't run. He sprinted straight up a collapsing skyscraper, boots hammering glass, body flowing with unnatural speed. His reflexes thrummed, every neuron firing on overdrive.
The beast's eye rolled to track him.
"Oh, you see me? Good," Hiro growled. He vaulted off the building, flipping mid-air, landing right on the monster's face. He drove both fists into its burning eye.
The eye popped like a melon. Black ichor sprayed, sizzling across his skin. Hiro laughed through the stench. "Ugly bastard! That hurt, didn't it?"
The monster roared, bucking violently. Hiro clung to its hide, nails digging in, body whipping in every direction. He felt alive—fuck, more alive than ever.
Rivals
"Hiro!"
A voice cut through the chaos. The crimson-armored heroine from before sprinted across rubble, sword gleaming. She sliced down two villains lunging for her throat, spinning with precision. Blood splattered her cheek, her breathing sharp.
"You're insane," she shouted up at him.
"Damn right I am!" Hiro barked back, hanging on as the beast clawed at him. "But you're still staring, sweetheart!"
She scowled, but her eyes lingered anyway.
That was when a villain slammed into her from the side—horned brute, muscles like boulders, face carved from hate. He pinned her against a collapsed wall, claws inches from her throat.
"Not today, pretty boy," the brute growled at Hiro. "She's mine."
Hiro sneered, springing off the beast's face mid-roar. He crashed into the brute with both knees, caving his chest inward. Bone cracked like wet wood. The villain choked blood.
[Kill Registered. +1 Level.]
Hiro wiped his hands on the corpse like it was a dirty rag. "The fuck you think this is? Nobody takes what's mine unless I let them." He smirked at the heroine, eyes gleaming. "And I don't share."
She clenched her jaw, half angry, half flushed. "…You're a bastard."
"Damn right. A hot one though."
⸻
Monster's Rage
The beast let out another roar, ripping Hiro's attention back. It slammed both claws into the ground, shattering reality itself. Streets crumbled into nothing. Buildings were sucked screaming into the pit. Combatants tumbled into the void like trash.
[10 Eliminated.]
The heroine grabbed Hiro's wrist, yanking him back from the collapsing ledge. Their faces were inches apart. For a moment, even with apocalypse chewing the sky, she was caught in his smirk.
"Keep pulling me like that and people'll think you like me," Hiro said, voice dripping with cocky venom.
She shoved him away. "Don't flatter yourself. I just don't want your corpse stinking near me."
"Bold talk. You'll still dream about me later."
Before she could retort, the beast lunged again. Its maw descended like a collapsing building. Dozens screamed, crushed or swallowed whole.
Hiro moved before thought. His reflexes screamed—he sprinted straight into the maw, dodging teeth the size of cars, flipping through gaps like a spider weaving silk.
The heroine gasped. "He's out of his mind…"
The Kill Shot
Inside the beast's mouth, Hiro planted his feet on jagged teeth, body straining. His eyes burned white-hot as he coiled every muscle.
"Let's see if you choke, ugly!"
He launched himself upward, slamming both fists into the roof of its mouth. Flesh burst. Bone cracked. Black blood poured like rain. Hiro ripped a tooth free and stabbed it into the beast's tongue, twisting until the monster convulsed.
Its scream was deafening.
The HUD blinked wildly:
[World Beast Critical. Deliver Final Blow for +5 Levels.]
"Oh, I'll deliver it," Hiro hissed, drenched in gore. He sprinted up its tongue, wall-running inside its skull, clawing his way toward the brain. Every step was chaos, blood flooding his hoodie, muscles screaming.
The monster bucked, collapsing entire city blocks. Survivors scrambled, cursing his name.
Then Hiro reached it—the pulsating black core, glowing like a dying star.
He didn't hesitate. He drove both fists straight through it.
The world stopped.
The beast convulsed once… twice… then exploded.
⸻
Aftermath
The blast ripped across the slums. Buildings shattered. Fire tore through neon. Black ichor rained for miles.
When the dust cleared, only a handful of combatants still stood, coughing, bleeding, gasping.
At the center of the carnage, Hiro dragged himself up from the rubble, body steaming, face split in a grin that promised hell.
The HUD pulsed above him:
[Kill Registered. +5 Levels.]
[Mission Completed. +2 Levels.]
[Total Gain: +8 Levels.]
Hiro staggered forward, blood dripping, every nerve blazing with new strength. His body felt like dynamite wired to a heartbeat.
Level 9. From a rookie to a nightmare in one mission.
The heroine stared at him across the ruins, armor shredded, eyes wide. She couldn't hide the way her breath caught.
Hiro wiped his mouth, spitting blood onto the ground. He flashed her a wolfish grin.
"Still think I'm insane?"
"…You're worse than insane," she whispered. "You're poison."
Hiro laughed, dark and feral. "Then drink up, sweetheart. 'Cause I'm just getting started."
The HUD shimmered once more:
[Next Mission Incoming.]
And Hiro grinned like the devil waiting for round two.