[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE]
-Survive The Swarm
- Reward: 5 Points
The creatures poured from the walls like a living tidal wave, screeching as their many legs skittered across the surface.
He tried to track their movements but they were too fast, too many, and far too interested in tearing them apart.
"Formation!" Rook barked, and the team moved on instinct.
They formed a defensive circle, backs to the center, with Lizzie at the core. Her hands already glowed green, ready to keep them alive.
Her gaze darted between the swarm and her teammates as her usual chaotic spark faded, replaced by razor-sharp focus.
The creatures poured in from every direction: walls, ceiling, cracks in the floor. Hundreds of them, maybe thousands, their chittering building into a deafening roar.
"Emma," Lizzie shouted over the noise. "You mind using one of those Ten Kings again?"
Emma snorted, drawing her regular blade. "Void King burned through half my reserves. I'm not wasting the rest on bugs." Essence crackled along her steel. "Saving it for something that actually matters."
"That's right. So we do it old-school," Rook rumbled, slamming his gauntleted fists together as the impact echoed across the chamber.
Cassandra stood in the circle between Kurt and Emma, sword already in hand. She was still low on essence from the earlier fight, but her grip was steady. "I'm sure we've seen worse."
Kurt drew his knife and smiled around his cigarette. "Speak for yourself, love. Although I've definitely seen uglier."
Then the swarm hit them.
***
Emma held her section of the circle, her blade cutting through the creatures violently. She didn't dodge but carved through them in broad, ruthless, perfect arcs of steel that split armor, limbs, and whatever counted as organs.
Each swing was decisive, ferocious and savage as she sent chitin and ichor spraying everywhere, but for every one she killed, two more took its place.
Rook anchored the opposite side, a living fortress. Creatures that got close met fists that crushed skulls and boots that shattered exoskeletons.
One latched onto his arm, needle-teeth trying to sink in, but his lightning-quick reflexes let him catch and squash it like, well, a bug.
Cassandra fought beside Kurt, her sword flashing as she wove through the swarm. She didn't waste energy on flashy moves. Every cut was deliberate, every step calculated. She sliced through legs, severed heads, and left a trail of twitching bodies in her wake.
Kurt stayed at the circle's edge, knife swinging quick as his Predator ability sharpened his senses to every click and twitch in the swarm's mass.
But the swarm kept pouring in from every angle, their numbers seemingly endless. A few slipped through, needle-teeth sinking into exposed flesh.
The bitten fighters screamed as black veins spread from the wounds, racing up their arms.
"Lizzie!" one shouted, his voice breaking. "It burns—"
"Hold on!" Lizzie's hands flared green, and she thrust her palm against his chest. The black veins receded, but slowly... too slowly. She gritted her teeth, pouring more essence into the heal.
The fighter gasped as the venom finally cleared, collapsing back against the circle.
"They're venomous!" Lizzie warned. "Don't let them bite you!"
Emma's voice came loud. "Little late for that advice!"
She slashed through another wave and glanced back at the swarm still pouring from the walls. "There's no end to these fuckers!"
Kurt's blade cut through another creature, but the swarm wasn't thinning. If anything, it was getting thicker. They were going to get overwhelmed.
He pulled up his system in the split-second between kills:
Available Points: 20
[Pyrokinesis - E Rank]
Cost to D Rank: 10 points
The upgrade cost ten points. That was half his reserve, and he'd been saving them for something important, but if they died here, points wouldn't matter.
'Fuck it.'
He dumped ten points into Pyrokinesis.
The ability burned as it upgraded. His hand ignited, flames roaring to life. This wasn't the small, controlled fire from before, but something bigger.
"Right then," Kurt said, stepping forward as the flames spread up his arms. "Let's see what D-rank can do."
He raised both hands, and a tsunami of fire erupted from his palms, sweeping across the chamber.
The creatures shrieked as the flames consumed them, their bodies curling and blackening as they burned. The heat was intense, oppressive, but Kurt controlled it, directing the fire away from his team and into the swarm.
The chittering turned to silence as the remaining creatures scurried back into the cracks and crevices they'd come from, retreating from the inferno.
Kurt lowered his hands, flames dying down, and flicked his cigarette onto the smoldering corpses. "That's right, piss off you six-eyed cockroaches."
Emma wiped bug goo from her cheek, glaring at him with grudging respect. "Show-off."
"Show-off? I'm sure I never liked that word. That's just a compliment with a 'fuck you' attached to it," Kurt said, grinning.
Cassandra walked over, and instead of sheathing her sword, she kept it in hand. "That fire." Her voice was calm, but her grip tightened on the hilt. "How can an F rank hunter produce such?"
Kurt pulled out another cigarette. "What's your point?"
"My point is," she took a step closer, "your movements, your speed, your strength... all of it says you're an F-rank hunter. Maybe low E at best. But that fire?" She tilted her head. "That's not something you should be able to produce."
Emma's hand moved to her weapon. "And you ask too many questions for someone who should be fucking grateful."
She glanced at Emma, amused. "Relax. I don't want to kill him or anything." Her attention returned to Kurt. "You're far too interesting for that."
Lizzie appeared between them, forcibly inserting herself into the space. "Are we done? Because some of us still have to get shit done even after the fight is over."
Cassandra's smile widened, but she stepped back. "Of course. Wouldn't want to distract you from your... work."
Lizzie's eye twitched, but before she could respond, Rook's voice boomed. "Enough. We're moving."
The team fell back into formation and continued deeper into the Hollows. Kurt walked beside Cassandra, even as Lizzie shot daggers at them from behind.
And in the back of his mind, the system updated.
[Pyrokinesis - D Rank]
Available Points: 10
Reaper Detection: DORMANT (19 days)
[QUEST COMPLETE: Survive The Swarm]
Reward: 5 Points
Available Points: 15
He dismissed it and focused on the path ahead. The boss levels were waiting. And so were answers.
***
A/N: I hope you're enjoying this so far. Add to Library and send a power stone or two if you are.
And a review or two would mean something to me! Thank you and peace!