Chapter 43: The Crimson Hands of Chaos
The wind was still, unnaturally so, the calm before a storm that already crackled beneath the surface. Raymond's breath was steady as he surveyed the ruins of Port Fall. Then, from behind him, came a voice.
"Raymond... I'm going after Frank and Elias," Tayla said, her steps soft but her voice resolute.
Raymond turned, one brow raised. "Everywhere seems clear. The enemy... they're being controlled by his Skill Acquisition," he replied, tilting his head toward General Augustus in the distance.
Tayla nodded. "Alright, I'm off."
Kaido, crouched by a broken wall nearby, looked up. "Where's she going?"
"She's sneaking inside. Looking for Frank or Elias," Raymond explained.
"Why's the general not doing anything?" Kaido scoffed. "Sheesh."
"He's following protocol. We were ordered to invade and subdue. Not kill."
Kaido rolled his eyes. "Boring. She's not following protocol, so I'm going after her."
"You're not the only one," Laura said suddenly, stepping forward.
Chris, the lieutenant, glanced over. "Be careful."
Laura gave him a half-smirk. "Are you really telling me that, Chris?"
Chris simply tied his black silk hair into a ponytail. "Just keep your skills on standby."
"You all are good enough for this," Jack's voice rang out behind them. Augustus turned his gaze to the man.
Jack exhaled deeply, his eyes clouded. "Huff..."
"What is it?" Augustus asked, peering down at him.
Jack only smiled—quiet, snickering.
"I'm glad you confessed to the atrocities you committed in Port Fall," Augustus said, his voice tight, his irritation flashing clearly now.
Just then, Chris approached, a tablet in hand. "Sir, the drones only picked up life signs from seven individuals still in the town."
Augustus nodded. "Then cuff them all. Scour the area. I want those seven."
Raymond furrowed his brows. Something itched at the edge of his perception.
"Hmmm..." he murmured.
Kaido tensed. "What's that?"
"There's a shift in the atmosphere... I can feel it," Raymond thought, narrowing his eyes toward Augustus and his lieutenant.
Then Jack muttered, almost too faint to hear: "It's a pity... a pity indeed."
"Huh?" Augustus reacted. He looked down at Jack just as Jack tilted his head up, smirking.
"Round up the troops. We ar—"
SWIIT!
A grotesque, elongated hand shot up from the ground near Augustus. It came fast—too fast.
"General!" Chris shouted, instantly unsheathing his blade.
SPLUURRT!!
Blood exploded across the air. Chris stood frozen, a long hand protruding from his chest, holding his still-beating heart.
"G-gurgh..." he choked, staring at the thing that had ripped him open.
"CHRIS!!" Laura screamed as the tablet clattered to the floor.
Augustus took a step back, eyes wide.
SHLURT!
The hand yanked free, leaving a gaping hole in Chris's torso. He collapsed, lifeless.
"What the hell—?!" Raymond shouted.
SWOOSH!
Two more elongated hands shot upward. He and Kaido narrowly dodged, but a White Knight beside them wasn't so lucky. One hand tore clean through his armor and chest.
"SLIIISH! SLIRRRSH!!" Kaido cut down both attacking limbs, his blades gleaming crimson in the light.
Raymond turned back, eyes locking onto Jack—still eerily composed—while one of the slithering hands crept toward him, holding Chris's heart like a grim trophy.
ARRGH!!
A soldier was yanked down by a hand erupting from beneath his feet. His skull sizzled and melted.
"What—what is that?!" someone shouted.
"It's everywhere!" another screamed.
Andrea unsheathed a curved blade, scanning the ground.
"Everybody, look around you!" Raymond barked. He and Kaido stood back to back, blades ready.
Augustus stared at Jack, a mix of confusion and dread in his eyes. "He's still under my skill... how—"
Then the hand drew closer to Jack, holding the heart.
"Laura, no!!" Tayla screamed.
Laura had already leapt, sword drawn, fury on her face. The blade glowed bright yellow.
"What do we have here?" Jack sneered.
SHLIRRT!!
A hand shot from the ground, colliding with her side and knocking her away. She crashed down, skidding with sparks across the dirt.
"Dang! Missed!" Jack hissed.
"Tch—hngh!" Laura gasped, grabbing her side.
Tayla rushed forward. "Laura!!"
Laura's eyes widened. Behind her—PLOP!—something landed. A hand. Human-shaped. Fresh.
"GARGH!!" she screamed, holding her arm—bisected at the elbow, blood spurting out.
"Joel!" Tayla called, voice cracking. She rushed to her.
"Tayla?!" Joel answered.
"I need you now!!"
Jack stood silent for a second, holding the freshly torn heart in his palm like it was some divine relic.
Then, slowly, he brought it to his lips.
MUNCH...
The first bite was wet and grotesque, tearing sinew from muscle as red spilled down his chin.
SQUELCH... RIP...
He chewed noisily. Tendons snapped between his teeth. He dragged the flesh, stretching it apart as he bit again, eyes fluttering in delight.
"Mmm..." Jack muttered, blood smearing his face. "Not bad at all."
Everyone froze.
Raymond's grip on his axe trembled subconsciously. Kaido barely muttered.
"He... he ate..."
"Chris's heart," Laura whispered, the horror sinking in.
Then—
KATCHUNK!!!
A sudden thunderous mechanism sounded. A luminous barricade of glowing blue cannons materialized out of thin air in a crescent arc around Augustus.
Each cannon gleamed with otherworldly circuitry, humming with restrained fury.
"You..." Augustus muttered, his tone deadly calm, eyes locked on Jack.
"You don't deserve to live."
Jack's chewing paused. Blood still dripping.
He grinned.
"Aw... come on. I'm only halfway done."
POW! POW!! POW!!! POW!!!!
The sky lit up as the cannons unleashed an overwhelming flurry of energy blasts, flooding the entire battlefield with devastating light.
The ground quaked. Dust erupted. The scent of scorched stone and vaporized blood filled the air.
The barrage didn't care who was nearby. It wasn't strategy anymore—
It was annihilation.
"Arrrgh!!" Laura screamed as debris pelted around her, shielding her eyes.
"Huff... huff...
Tayla ducked low, her voice trembling, one tear forming.
"Don't worry, Sister... I'm here... I'm here."
As the light faded and the smoke began to clear, Raymond whispered:
I hope he's dead."
Augustus stared straight into the smoke.
"He better be," he growled.
Joel burst from the rear, shoving Tayla aside, her palms glowing green.
The bleeding slowed. Then—protrusion. Flesh and bone regenerated, finger by finger.
"There," Joel said breathlessly.
Laura leapt up, fury ignited. "That monster ate Chris's heart..."
She pointed her sword at Jack. But the smoke from the barrage of earlier blasts obscured the scene.
"Iven! Iven!" Raymond ran forward.
"It's over!" he declared.
Augustus ceased the barrage of canon-fire, lips tight. "I hope he's dead."
But then—
SLITHER... SLITHER...
Hands slowly peeled away from Jack, revealing the blood-slick carnage. Some Vance followers were reduced to chunks of flesh and bone.
"You... you killed them," Raymond muttered.
"Some of them," Augustus corrected, his tone grim.
From the heart of it all, Jack began laughing.
"Hahahahaha... that was fun."
A soft red glow surged through him.
"Would've died if not for the dead idiot lieing there" he grinned.
He pointed at Augustus. "You... I wanted your heart."
The ground hissed as cavities burst open, spewing thick mist.
SLIIITCH!!
"GARRGH!" Scott roared, slicing a hand away.
"We aren't receiving any info—what's happening?!" he shouted.
Piko leaned on her staff, shaken. "It's those hands... they're everywhere..."
"Joel ran off to heal someone. Let's go!" Scott ordered.
"Wait! Let me patch you first," Piko replied.
The fog crept in.
"What's this?" Nick asked behind Andrea.
"Something bad... real bad," she answered. "I'm more worried about Scott and Piko."
"What did he mean by his turn?" Kaido asked, drawing his second blade.
Then—
SPLURRT!
A hand stabbed through a Vance follower.
"Leader Jack!?" another follower gasped.
BLURT!!
Another died, head melted in front of Roi.
Gasp!!...wha....what?...
He spoke out wide eyed in terror and fright.
"Why!?" a third screamed before being ripped apart.
"He's killing his own!?" Tayla exclaimed, horror in her voice.
"Now I've got nothing to lose," Jack whispered, wiping blood from his face.
He stepped forward.
BRRRUUUUUDDDGGGEEE!!!!
Dozens of hands erupted toward Raymond and Augustus.
"What... is he?!" Augustus gasped.
BARRDDGGEE!!!
The earth exploded with debris.
"RAYMOND!!" Kaido cried, running forward.
SWIITTZZ!!
He dodged a three-armed strike just in time.
"There's more of them!!" Laura shouted, standing her ground.
SWWIITTZZ!!
A barrage of hands struck. Joel raised a green barrier just in time.
THOOM! THOOM!! THOOM!!
They crashed into the barrier with splats.
Beyond the mist, Jack's voice echoed:
"Now... it's time for the cleansing.