Stepping out of Alberto's house, Ash felt the weight of the silence settle upon his shoulders.
There was no longer any reason to linger in this ghost of a village.
Each step he took toward the main gate was measured, heavy with the realization that once he crossed that threshold, he would be hunted by a Predator-level existence.
Even with a silver spear capable of drawing blood and a belt full of alchemical enhancements, confidence was a foreign concept to him.
Ash knew the grim reality: surviving an encounter with a Predator was a feat in itself; killing one was a near impossibility for an unranked human.
From the Spawn level upward, every monster possessed esoteric abilities that defied common logic. Even seasoned veterans struggled to slay such beasts, and Ash was—at his core—still just a man.
'I only need to endure,' he reminded himself, his grip tightening on the cold silver shaft. 'Hold out until dawn.'
If anyone had asked why he didn't simply barricade himself inside a house, his answer would have been cold and pragmatic:
"When a predator smells its prey, it doesn't care about walls."
Staying inside would only turn a house into a wooden coffin, stripping him of the space needed to maneuver.
Outside, the world was vast; outside, he had a chance to run.
Without further delay, he bolted westward, his eyes fixed on the path leading to the "breach"—the very hole from which the rats had emerged decades ago.
According to Alberto's map, that underground tunnel was his only hope for sanctuary.
Thanks to the food and rest he had gathered, Ash's body felt revitalized.
He sprinted with a grace he hadn't known he possessed.
But in this Place, there was always something faster.
While he was mid-stride, a flicker of movement caught the corner of his eye.
A jagged shadow erupted from the darkness beside him, and within that shadow, a pitch-black claw lunged out with lethal intent.
His survival instinct screamed.
Ash threw his body to the right, a desperate, reflexive lunge.
The air hissed as the claw narrowly missed his chest, but the speed was too great to evade entirely. A sharp, searing heat exploded along his forearm.
"Kuh..."
A low grunt escaped his lips. Blood splattered onto the dry grass as three deep gashes opened on his arm, stinging with an agonizing, caustic burn.
The Predator had arrived. It was no longer content with watching; it wanted to feast.
Ignoring the throbbing pain, Ash didn't stop.
To stand and fight here was a death sentence. That first evasion had been a miracle born of pure luck, and he knew luck was a finite resource.
Swish—!
Another claw manifested from the void on his right.
'Again?'
Ash pivoted mid-run, contorting his torso.
The talons grazed his back, shredding his shirt and leaving a jagged trail of crimson in their wake.
He felt the cold bite of the wind on his raw skin, a grim reminder of how close he was to the end.
Realizing its prey was slippery, the shadow accelerated, surging past Ash with terrifying fluidity.
'Too fast!'
He skidded to a halt as the shadow ahead of him billowed upward, coalescing into a physical nightmare.
It stood nearly 2.8 meters tall—a gaunt, skeletal frame wrapped in oily, pitch-black skin that shimmered like liquid tar.
A faint, malefic mist leaked from its pores, and its face was nothing but a cavernous maw filled with rows of needle-like teeth.
As they faced off in the clearing, Ash noticed a crucial detail.
The creature had only a right arm. Its left shoulder ended in a jagged, cauterized stump.
'Alberto...' Ash realized. 'When the Chief struck the pregnant mother, he must have severed the limb of the fetus within.
You've given me a fighting chance, Alberto.'
Despite the handicap, the creature radiated a suffocating pressure. Without hesitation, Ash downed one of the Strength Serums.
The effect was instantaneous. A surge of artificial heat flooded his veins, his perception sharpened, and the fatigue in his muscles evaporated, replaced by an explosive, jittery energy.
'So this is the power of an alchemist's work... Incredible.'
Ash leveled his silver spear, his stance low and predatory.
"Keeeeee—!"
The monster shrieked, its powerful legs propelling it forward like a launched catapult. It swung its massive claw downward, aiming to split Ash in two.
'I can see it!'
With his senses heightened by the serum, Ash tracked the trajectory.
He ducked, the wind of the strike ruffling his hair as the monster's momentum carried it past him.
The creature hissed, spinning around with supernatural agility to renew its assault. Ash slipped to the right, parrying a secondary lunge with the butt of his spear.
'I can see the movements, but it's still a blur. Without the serum, I'd be a corpse by now.'
"Keeeeeee—!"
It lunged again, moving like an arrow released from a heavy bow.
'This is my chance!'
As the claw neared his throat, Ash utilized his sharpened reflexes to lean just an inch out of the way.
He thrust the silver spear backward with every ounce of his reinforced strength, aiming for the creature's exposed flank.
'It's a hit!'
But the monster's maw twisted into a grotesque grin. The spear didn't meet resistance; it passed clean through the creature's torso as if it were made of smoke.
'What?'
Ash's eyes widened. The Predator dissolved into a liquid shadow, seeping into the earth and beginning to circle him at a blinding speed.
Ash forced himself to remain calm. This was a Predator—incomplete or not, it wouldn't be taken down by a simple thrust.
He focused every sense, feeling the vibration of the shadow beneath him, and then—
He ran.
There was no point in a stalemate against a foe he couldn't touch. His priority was the Core, not a pyrrhic victory.
This wasn't cowardice; it was the cold calculus of survival.
Bolstered by the serum, Ash reached a staggering speed of 60 km/h, weaving through the trees like a silver streak.
Yet, the Predator matched him, a dark blur rippling through the shadows beside him. The creature's upper torso emerged from the ground, swinging a devastating blow.
Ash hit the deck, sliding under the strike while his legs kept churning.
BOOM—!
The force of the claw sheared through three massive trees simultaneously, the sound of splintering wood echoing like cannon fire through the forest.
'Terrifying power.'
Ash pushed himself harder, his heart hammering against his ribs as he hit 80 km/h. The world became a smear of gray and black.
Behind him, the sounds of destruction followed—Boom! Boom! Boom!—as the creature relentlessly lashed out.
He dodged and wove, but the talons still managed to find purchase, leaving small tears in his clothes and shallow nicks on his skin.
"Keeeeeeee!"
The Predator shrieked in frustration. Suddenly, multiple rope-like tendrils of darkness erupted from its shadow, lashing toward Ash like ebony snakes.
'What now?'
Ash leaped forward, covering two meters in a single bound.
Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
The shadow tendrils impaled the ground where he had stood a microsecond before. Before he could recover, the creature's main claw swept in a wide arc.
'No time to dodge!'
Clang—!
The screech of metal against bone-hard talons rang out.
Ash held his spear horizontally, blocking a strike that stopped mere inches from his skull.
The force was immense.
"Kuh... so strong!"
Even with the serum, he was being overpowered.
Ash was forced to one knee, the ground cracking beneath him as the Predator pressed its weight down.
More shadow tendrils began to rise, coiling for a lethal strike.
Grit teeth, Ash strained every fiber of his muscles, shoving the creature's claw upward just enough to create an opening.
He rolled desperately to the side as the tendrils whistled past.
The monster's claw slammed into the earth, leaving a crater.
Thud—! Thud—!
Shink—!
"Kuh..."
He hadn't been fast enough.
A shadow tendril pierced through his left shoulder, pinning him momentarily.
The pain was white-hot, radiating through his chest.
Gritting his teeth against the agony, Ash used the sharp edge of his silver spear to sever the shadowy tether.
Ignoring the blood soaking his shirt, he sprinted again.
The Predator dived back into the shadows, a relentless tide of darkness pursuing him.
Ash ran until his lungs burned, his left arm hanging slightly limp as blood dripped from the puncture wound.
Suddenly, the trees thinned out, revealing a vast, open clearing.
'There it is!'
In the center of the clearing stood a solitary, ancient tree.
At its base was a small, inconspicuous hole—just wide enough for a human to slip through.
Vroom—!
A claw erupted from the ground directly beneath his abdomen, lunging upward.
Ash kicked off the air, a desperate mid-air twist that sent him tumbling to the right.
He scrambled up, his eyes locked on the goal.
"Keeeeeeee—!"
The creature, sensing its prey was about to escape, went into a frenzy, launching every shadow tendril it possessed.
'Now!'
Ash threw himself forward in a long, low dive, rolling through the grass as the tendrils hissed overhead.
Swish—! Swish—!
Using his momentum, he transitioned into a slide, feet-first, straight into the dark maw of the breach.
His body fit perfectly, the steep incline of the tunnel pulling him down into the earth.
"Ah!"
He spiraled down the lightless chute, the surface world vanishing above him.
He looked up one last time to see the Predator peering down through the narrow opening.
Its face was no longer grinning.
Ash, however, allowed a small, cold smile to touch his lips.
The beast let out a final, earth-shaking roar of fury that vibrated through the tunnel walls:
"KEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"