The avalanche was a roaring beast of chilling devastation, consuming everything in its path and transforming greenery into frozen constructs of ice.
Standing before the natural calamity, Sam couldn't help but curse under his breath, forcing his battered body forward as he gritted his teeth in desperation.
Clutching his bag against his chest, he glanced back at the wall of white death surging toward him. Before it could engulf him entirely, he jumped.
Air shrieked past his ears as he plummeted from the cliff. He unsheathed his daggers mid-fall and drove them into the rocky surface, desperate to control his descent. The blades skittered and bounced off stone, slowing him barely, but it simply wasn't nearly enough.
His body slammed against the cliff, his ribs screaming profanities at him without doubt. Groaning, he twisted violently and kicked off the rock, launching himself toward a tree jutting from the mountainside below.
The impact of grabbing the branch sent agonizing pain throughout Sam's hands and arms. His bones creaked, nearly snapping, as his full weight almost pulled his shoulders from their sockets. A muffled scream managed to slip through his clenched teeth. Yet, He refused to let go even as his fingers went numb and his palms tore open against the rough bark. The wave of snow crashed over him, a suffocating barrier of frost that tried its very best to rip him away.
Looking down through watering eyes, Sam saw only darkness, an enlarging shadow spreading outward like a peaceful embrace of Evernight.
When he looked up, he saw a screaming waterfall of snow cascading from above. Sam would have been entranced by the captivating sight if he wasn't in deep shit. By sheer luck, it missed burying him alive, landing mere meters away, but the displacement alone nearly tore him from his perch.
The tree shuddered violently under the relentless assault of the snowy tsunami. Sam's blood ran cold, colder than the ice coating his face, as he heard the sickening sound of wood cracking. In that moment, realization struck like a hammer. A resigned look appeared on his face, his lips pursed in bitterness.
The tree couldn't withstand this force. It was going to-
"Ah..."
The trunk tilted sharply downward, then snapped entirely, swallowed by snow like everything else.
"ARGHHHHHH!" A raw, panicked scream tore from Sam's throat as he fell again. He twisted desperately mid-air, spotting a chunk of bark surfacing in the churning snow. He slammed onto it, the impact stealing breath from his lungs as he coughed, his eyes wide and bloodshot.
Turning immediately to avoid falling from the bark, his hands lashed out, scrambling frantically at the wood. His fingers slipped on the icy surface, nails breaking and tearing from the force he exerted. His blood streaked the wood, already freezing into bluish crystals. With a bloodshot eyes, he dug his shattered nails deeper into the bark, ignoring the unimaginable, intense agony flooding his body, and dragged himself fully onto the makeshift raft.
His entire body shook from cold. His hands had turned a sickly blue like the color of rotting meat. Snot poured from his nose, freezing into crusts on his upper lip. His lips cracked and bled. His breathing came in ragged, wretched gasps as his lungs burned from the frigid air.
It's so cold... The thought barely formed through the fog of hypothermia creeping into his mind. His teeth chattered so violently he feared they'd shatter. Bluish discoloration spread across his exposed skin like a disease as blood vessels constricted desperately, his body cannibalizing its extremities to preserve his core.
Through blurred vision, he saw the bark careening toward the Tussock River, making him roll his eyes in resentment.
Ugh, dammit... I'm going to die from hypothermia or poison... Which is better, I wonder... He tried to smile, searching for something positive about his situation. But his smile faded almost immediately, lips splitting further as they moved. There was nothing positive here. He was fucked.
But while Sam shook violently on the bark, he felt another hostile presence staring down at him with unmistakable malice.
Snapping his head back, Sam felt ice-cold dread crawl up his spine. On another piece of sliding wood crouched a ferocious creature.
Its slit crimson eyes burned with ravenous hunger. Its skinless body was lean and corded with muscle, exposed sinew glistening wetly in the pale light. Sharp claws gripped the wood fiercely. The creature was hideous, not quite as revolting as the Rat King, but close enough. Its bones seemed fused with raw flesh like disgusting armor plating.
Sam remained silent, his expression hardening as he locked eyes with the monstrous beast. They were completely different: one was animal and another man. Yet in this moment, both shared the same vile trait: a hunger to consume the other.
The cat hissed, muscles bunching beneath its exposed flesh. Then it launched itself from the wood.
Adrenaline flooded Sam's veins. It felt like his freezing body was melting under immolating flames. He grinned wildly and reached for his sheath, only to grasp empty air.
He blinked, remembering how he'd lost the daggers in his fall. "Oh shit-"
The cat crashed into him with terrifying force. Its maw locked onto his forearm, fangs sinking deep into his frozen flesh. A pained groan escaped Sam's throat, though the pain felt distant, his body too numb from cold to experience it in full intensity.
Eyes wide and crazed, Sam kicked viciously at the creature, trying to throw it off the bark. But the cat clung to him like a parasite, its claws raking across his chest in savage furrows, shredding fabric first and then skin. Blood spilled across his torso, his clothes reddening.
Then the cat's eyes widened in shock. Because Sam had adopted the beast's own tactics.
Lips splitting open from the chilling cold, Sam lunged forward and bit down on the creature's neck. His teeth scraped uselessly against hardened flesh and that bizarre skeletal structure protecting its body, leaving only shallow marks that barely broke skin.
The cat shrieked, thrashing violently. Its claws opened fresh wounds across Sam's shoulders and arms, the bark they fought on turning crimson from Sam's blood.
He was dying, his body shutting down from cold. The wounds weren't deep, but they were still bleeding. Yet in this moment, he couldn't care less about death or pain. Deranged laughter bubbled from his throat as he locked eyes with the creature still trying to tear off his arm, insidious glee burning in his golden eyes. "You should be thanking me, Tom! I killed Jerry for you! Hahaha!"
The cat snarled, ignoring his mad ravings, twisting to reach Sam's throat with its claws, going straight for the kill.
However, before it could strike, Sam did something utterly reckless.
He abandoned the safety of the bark entirely. Holding the cat in a tight embrace, he stood up, barely balancing on the unstable wood as he swayed like a drunkard. The moment the bark struck a submerged tree and launched into the air, Sam channeled every ounce of his remaining strength into his legs and leaped.
Wind screamed past his ears. Below him, the raging Tussock River waited patiently. Sam twisted mid-flight, dodging a vicious claw from the cat, then delivered a devastating kick of his own that sent the cat plummeting into the water with a resounding splash.
In the same motion, he tensed his bloodied arm and hurled his bag toward the opposite riverside, praying it would survive the avalanche, that his hard-won prizes wouldn't be lost to the river's depths.
A heartbeat later, he descended at terrifying speed. He balanced his body, twisted mid-air with arms outstretched and inhaled deeply, his chest rising.
His arms plunged into the river's icy grip first, then his entire body submerged in the chilling waters of the mountain.
The coldness he felt at this moment was worse than the one in the lightless, uninhabitable land of the Abyss. It felt like his body was about to shatter, as if a thousand needles were piercing him. Sam's heart hammered wildly in his chest, as if trying to escape. The cold, pain, and oxygen deprivation drove him to the edge of madness.
But he couldn't stop. He just couldn't do it, it wasn't in his nature. Opening his eyes in the crystal-clear water, he saw waves of ruthless snow crashing into the river above. And a few meters away from him, a desperate, feral cat struggled to swim upward.
Holding his breath, Sam swam toward it. The river's vicious current propelled him forward as his body convulsed from cold. He slammed into the cat with everything he had, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness. The cat flinched, trying to escape.
But before it could, both of them were swept away by the violent torrent, their faces reddening from lack of oxygen.
Then he spotted a massive boulder rising from the riverbed. He wanted to laugh from genuine happiness but couldn't for obvious reasons. Instead, he maneuvered behind the cat, grabbed its thrashing legs and head, and drove it forward with fiendish glee, smashing its face against the stone with all his ferocious might.
Sam didn't waste any time after that. He swam upward desperately, his head emerging from the raging water, inhaling air greedily with a bloodthirsty grin.
"Haaaaa... Haaaaa... Ha-ha-ha... Ha-ha-ha-ha." Delirious laughter left his blue lips, teeth chattering so violently he tasted blood.
Then he felt discomfort in his leg. Looking down in disbelief, he saw the cat's silhouette beneath the tumultuous water. The cat was using his body as a ladder, its claws sinking into his calf. With one agile leap, it escaped from the frosty river.
But it was stopped mid-air. Sam's fingers tightened around its tail, his eyes frenzied. And while blood from his hands made it slippery, he refused to let go. "Where are you going, Tom?"
He tensed his arm, veins popping as his muscles bulged, and yanked the creature downward with all his remaining strength, slamming the cat against the stone ruthlessly.
Crawling up onto the rock, his eyes burning with cold, murderous hatred, he grabbed the disoriented creature's skull with both hands and smashed it on stone. His golden eyes were wide open as he made the unbleedable creature bleed, crashing its skull again and again without thought of stopping. His body moved more with instinct than reason, gritting his teeth, enduring the pain to deal as much damage as he possibly could.
He didn't stop until nothing remained but shattered fragments of bone, blood, and brain matter on his hands. He breathed heavily.
"F-fuck… That's what you get… f-for bullying stable boys…" he cursed, his voice stuttering. His body was shaking, growing increasingly numb despite the blood on his hands. If I could've pulled the revolver… I would've finished this bastard easily. It's not as resilient as the Rat.
He clenched his jaw, tired of the chattering, hoping it would stop. He grabbed the mangled tail of the filthy beast, took a deep breath of resignation, and jumped back into the river, dragging the carcass of the Skinless Blood Cat with him.
Reaching the riverside, he hurled the cat's motionless body toward his bag, then frantically scanned for the Rat King's remains. Spotting the corpse of the hideous beast trapped between trees, he sighed in relief. At least his efforts weren't in vain.
Then he searched for the boat, but found it gone. Either Yuri and Amelia had escaped in time, or they'd abandoned it entirely. Sam preferred to believe they'd made it out safely. If the boat were still here, he'd have no way of knowing whether they'd escaped or perished in the avalanche.
He still wasn't fully sure, but he had a feeling they'd survived. For now, all he could do was trust them. He couldn't take care of anyone if he couldn't even save himself from death, so worrying about others was worthless. Even so, it wasn't easy. Reason and feelings didn't complement each other that well.
Right now, he wanted to lie down and rest. Just rest. Hell, even death would've been easier, but he couldn't afford to. Instead, forcing his trembling limbs to move, he started collecting dry wood for a fire.
After gathering enough, he searched his bag with numb fingers, looking for matchsticks. Soon, he found the tin container dry. A pale smile curled up his lips. He lowered his head, silently thanking whoever had made this waterproof leather bag.
With shaking hands, he struck a match. Once the fire started, he removed his wet clothes, hanging them near the flames to dry, then began cleaning his revolver meticulously despite his trembling fingers. Water in the mechanism could mean death if he needed it later. After finishing, he put it in his holster with a sigh.
Exhaustion finally began seeping in, his eyes growing blurry and unfocused. His head nodded forward, but he immediately jabbed his thigh with a sharp stick. Pain woke him up. He shook his head stubbornly, struggling to stay conscious. Not yet... Hypothermia will kill me if I sleep now.
After warming himself by the fire for several minutes, enough that his fingers regained some feeling and his shivering lessened to the point he could move around without annoyance, he forced himself to stand.
He walked to the Rat King's corpse, using a heavy stone to shatter one of its claws. The makeshift blade would have to do. With the claw, he cut open the creature's belly and instantly leaped back to avoid the blood touching him. He wasn't in the mood for experiencing acidic rat blood again. Though the damned smell was worse than poisonous blood, it almost made him throw up.
Using wooden sticks, he somehow managed to pull the heart out from the belly, then rolled it toward a piece of cloth and used the stick to place it in the box Amelia had given him.
The box wasn't large, just big enough to fit comfortably in his bag. Inside it already rested Selina's Beyonder Characteristic and several empty vials. He needed the Rat King's remains, but substantial parts that retained mystical qualities, like the heart, tail, or brain, would be a far better choice.
He set the heart carefully in the box, then filled an empty vial with 40 milliliters of the Rat King's blood before sealing it and storing everything away.
Dragging his shaking body back across the riverside, he repeated the process with the Skinless Blood Cat. He cut open its belly, removed the heart, and filled more vials with its blood, same as the Rat King. Though draining blood from a beast that barely bled was irritating.
After finishing everything, he took a seat near the fire and stared at the flames bleakly, his expression hollow. The only emotion that appeared on his face was a grimace as his stomach started complaining. He sighed, glancing at the cat's mangled corpse with disgust, and closed his eyes. Can't be picky now...
Exhaling softly, he pushed his almost-dry hair back from his face, his golden eyes half-lidded and lazy. He didn't care that it was a deplorable beast. It wasn't his first time eating monster meat. In the Abyss, he'd even consumed human children. He didn't really care what he ate as long as his hunger disappeared, such was the nature of a devil.
But before he could cook the cat, a ferocious roar erupted from behind. Any normal person would panic in such a situation. But alas, Sam wasn't exactly normal. Instead of fear, a peaceful smile of gratitude appeared on his face as he remained perfectly still, hand drifting to his revolver. He looked back calmly at the brown bear charging toward him with a ferocious growl and raised his gun with his left hand, aiming carefully and closing his right eye to focus.
Bang!
Bang!
The bear stumbled, its momentum carrying it forward. It crashed on the ground, rolling across the frozen earth before going still.
A pale smile crossed Sam's face. He holstered the revolver and dragged the bear's heavy body toward the fire, feeling sharp pain from his wounds now that his body was warmer. He groaned, but nevertheless continued moving.
By now his clothes had dried enough to wear. He tore strips from his ruined shirt, crushed some dried tobacco leaves from his supplies, and smeared the mixture onto the makeshift bandages before pressing them against his wounds. The tobacco would help prevent infection. He licked his lips as he tied them tight, his eyes narrowed in focus.
Next, he turned his attention to the bear. Using the Rat King's claw, he cut open its belly and pulled out the entrails, tossing them aside. Then he cut off one of its hind legs, skinned it calmly, and skewered the meat on a sturdy branch over the fire.
As the meat began to cook, Sam glanced back at the bear's open belly. He clasped his hands and thanked the God for this gift. The moment he finished praying, he instantly crawled inside the carcass with a happy look.
Feeling the warmth, his hardened expression melted completely. He almost giggled like a girl, making strange childish noises as he hugged himself, curling up inside the belly with excitement.
But after fully warming up, he calmed down, remaining inside the bear's body, unmoving, watching the leg cook over the fire through half-lidded, lazy eyes while his core temperature slowly climbed back toward survivable levels. His mind drifted to his next course of action while observing fat dripping from the cooking meat and sizzling in the flames.
"Mhmm… it wasn't that bad." he murmured to himself, humming cheerfully as he stared at the endless bloody horizon.
***
[A/N: Sam can't catch a breath, XDD. Well, the second part of the first volume is finally over. Now it's time for the last one. So, how would you guys rate Sam's performance since day one?
1. Peak
2. Good
3. Meh
4. Fraud
That's it for now, enjoy his torture. At least, I did, XDD.]
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