A throbbing pain pulsed through my skull. Like a terrible hangover, the kind that hits hard the morning after a night of heavy drinking.
Hangover, was it? Where were my headache pills? I reached around the bed, hoping to find the Tylenol I usually kept nearby. Two wouldn't cut it this time, I'd need at least four to dull the ache.
But they weren't there.
Grunting through the pain, I forced my eyes open, blinking against the harsh light.
It wasn't my familiar, messy bedroom that greeted me. The place was dark, the light feeble, struggling to cut through the gloom. The air was thick and sharp with a metallic tang, almost suffocating.
'What's going on?'
Blinking repeatedly, I tried to make sense of my surroundings. From my position, it seemed I was lying on a bus.
Oh, right. The bus… it had fallen from a height. High enough to terrify, but somehow I had survived the impact. The details of the crash were hazy, blurred by pain and shock.
But what had dropped the bus?
I moved my hand slightly, attempting to lift myself. My strength was weak, still recovering from the fall.
That's when I felt something wet. Slowly lowering my eyes, my stomach sank.
Crimson.
The liquid glistened in the dim light. It wasn't water, it was thick, dense, and carried that unmistakable metallic stench.
Blood.
But it wasn't mine.
I was inside a public bus. Normally, such buses were large enough to contain around forty seated passengers, not counting those who could stand. However, all the passengers were dead. Not a single person was alive.
Some died instantly when the bus landed on the ground. Others… hadn't been so lucky. Their bodies were twisted, contorted against the seats, some pressed under the wreckage worn their limbs bent at impossible angles. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the faint, acrid smoke of crushed electronics.
A low groan made me freeze. My eyes darted around, but it was just the wind whistling through shattered windows.
I tried to push myself upright, but fear and exhaustion held me down. More precisely, it was the strange, cold voice I'd heard earlier.
[Stay... still.]
What? I should stay... still?
Naturally, I was confused. Where exactly was the voice coming from? Was I imagining it? Should I investigate the source of the voice?
When I thought this,
"...?!"
I finally saw it.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something moving through the shattered ceiling: a long, jagged beak belonging to a monstrous bird-like creature. But it was no ordinary bird, that's if it could be called a bird at all.
Its head resembled that of a serpent or a lion, crowned with a fierce, predatory gaze, while its body was that of a raven, pale and corpse-like. Dark feathers coated its head and chest, contrasting sharply with the ghostly whiteness of its limbs and wings.
The creature was enormous, muscles coiling beneath its skin like taut steel cables. Two powerful hind legs anchored it, while six more limbs jutted messily from its wide chest, each tipped with lethal, curved razor claws.
It was terrifying, unnatural, and radiated a bloodlust so primal it could have belonged to the apex predator of this world.
Humans had once been the dominant hunters of the old world, but they were utterly powerless here
My body froze. Even if I tried, I knew I wouldn't be able to move a single muscle. Was this what it truly meant to stare death in the face?
As I continued to remain as unnoticeable and small as possible, the accursed beast lowered its beak towards a corpse, pried it open with ease and tore the once-living human apart.
It was as effortless as snapping a twig in half. Fortunately, the victim was already dead, but even so, the sight was revolting.
I wanted to vomit, but I swallowed it down black and heavy.
'Please eat your fill and go away. Please go away!'
[Demon's Herald]
Funny enough, that creature had been one of the earliest and easiest mobs you could encounter in Shatterverse. But now, I was praying for the very same weakling I mocked daily to just fly away.
Of course, it couldn't be helped. The creature had sensitive hearing, so if I even let out a fart by mistake, it was game over for real. All I could do was helplessly clutch my butt cheeks together like this.
I barely dared to breathe.
Every shallow inhale felt like a thunderclap against my eardrums, each one threatening to draw the creature's attention. Its claws scraped against the metal frame of the bus, echoing in the hollow wreckage.
I could hear the faint rustle of feathers, the wet squelch of its beak tearing into flesh, and the low, almost imperceptible hiss it made. Such minor details could only be noticed by me.
Time stretched forth.
Every second felt like an eternity, my mind replaying the creature's monstrous visage over and over. It felt like I was going to run mad.
Gradually, the herald finished its third meal and moved on to its next target.
'Tch. Just how much are you going to eat you damn greedy bird!'
Suddenly, it froze and twisted its head toward my direction.
Wait, what?
Something here must have caught its attention, because the beast started moving closer and closer.
'No, no, no! Go back! Go back! Go away!'
I screamed inwardly in horror as the creature drew nearth. Despite my natural instincts telling me to flee, I knew the moment I did, I will die. So I could only trust the voice inside my head.
[Don't... move.]
I clenched every muscle I had, trying not to even twitch a finger. The creature's golden eyes scanned the wreckage, narrowing, as if it could sense my very soul.
Then, mercifully, it paused. And then, just as suddenly as it had noticed me, it turned its head and flapped its pale wings with a terrifying grace. The air whipped around me, carrying the metallic scent of blood and death.
The creature didn't move toward me. Instead, it soared to another part of the bus, drawn to… whatever, I didn't dare look. But from the sound that followed, I already knew what.
"Arrrrggghhh!!"
Caught by the Demon's Herald, someone screamed as the creature's beak clamped onto their hand and lifted them into the air. It was a horrifying sight of a fat man being preyed upon by a grotesque, raven-like monstrosity.
Wait… that voice.
Wasn't he the grumbling man from earlier?
"You damn bird. How do you like a taste of this?"
Surprisingly, the grumbling man possessed some fighting spirit left. Or maybe it was because he knew he was going to die anyways.
But what was the use of a fighting spirit in this kind of...
Bang! Bang...! Two loud penetrating noises echoed.
KREEEAAAHH!!
The mighty Demon's Herald staggered backward and released the man from its merciless grip.
This guy... the grumbling man was smiling despite his right hand being broken and bleeding.
…Could he have?
My eyes widened as I realized.
The middle-aged man had concealed a firearm, a Glock 20.
Ah, that's right. Guns could be purchased legally for self-defense. But carrying a loaded weapon outside your home, on public transport…? That was definitely suspicious, yes. I wonder what kind of background he had.
More importantly,
'Why did you fire that shot, you freaking bastard?!'
In a place crawling with hidden horrors, loud noises were the last thing you wanted. A stray gunshot could easily draw attention from something far worse than a Demon's Herald.
Simply put, this guy screwed us even if we somehow survived.
'Tch.'
I gritted my teeth.
KREEAAH! KREEAAH!!
The Demon bird hissed and glared at the fat man. If it was going to kill him slowly, now it would definitely ensure he died.
"Wait… W-What? You weren't… affected at all…"
Horrified, the grumbling man slowly realized his miscalculation and began to back away. However, the bloodlusted Demon's Herald had no plans to let him escape alive.
With a single, fluid leap, the beast closed the distance in an instant and stomped on him with its claws. Before the man could even scream, the bird used its other limbs to mercilessly tear into flesh and bone, ripping out his insides.
Apart from the initial leap, the attack wasn't as fast as one might expect. It was agonizingly slow and deliberate, designed to inflict maximum pain before delivering the final blow.
It was torturing him.
'Ah…'
Perhaps it was because I'd always played the game on a screen, I'd forgotten just how ruthless and wicked the monsters of Shatterverse were.
After all… they were creatures of the night
"Agh! Ahk! Ugh! Ahk!"
The man could barely force out a cry for help. Even if he managed to, no one would come to his aid. His end was inevitable. Resigned to his fate, he lifted the pistol one final time.
Slowly, his finger squeezed the trigger.
Bang!
The shot tore through the demon's eye, eliciting a furious scream. It wasn't enough to kill a Hollow, but it was enough to blind one of the creature's eyes.
For a brief moment, the man felt a grim satisfaction. But even that was fleeting.
Enraged, the creature raised of its hind limbs and stomped hard. Following that was the scene of a human head being flattened like a pancake.
The heavy thud of the final blow echoed through the wrecked bus. Silence fell, save for the faint creak of metal and the ragged breathing of the few survivors still too terrified to move.
The creature let out a low, rumbling screech and unfolded its wings. The Demon Herald swept its malicious gaze around the bus one final time. Then, without warning, it launched itself upwards.
Dark wings carved through the feeble light, carrying the bird away from the mangled bodies and shattered seats. The air shook with each powerful beat, gusts whipping dust, debris, and the coppery tang of blood around the bus interior.
Slowly, painfully, I exhaled, a sigh of relief escaping me. The beast had finally gone. By some miracle, I had survived.
Yet a bitter taste lingered in my mouth.
"Tch. Damn bird…" I muttered through gritted teeth. "Just you wait. I'll get out of here, and when I do, I'll find you…"
My gaze followed the fading silhouette of the fleeing creature. Inwardly, within my heart, I made a cold vow.
"…Then, I'll kill you."