SSS-Ranked Evolution: Worlds Unbound-Chapter 33: The Guilt Of Survival.

The creatures lunged, their distorted forms hurtling toward him with inhuman speed. Ren was ready. His blade gleamed in the dim light as it intercepted their attacks, slashing through jagged limbs and tearing into their grotesque bodies. Their snarls and shrieks filled the air, but he pushed forward, his focus razor-sharp.

"You guys must be half brained if you think I’m going to let you kill me!" he growled, his voice tight with determination.

One of the monsters slammed into him with brute force, sending his sword flying from his grip. Ren stumbled but didn’t falter. His training with Hanabi kicked in, muscle memory guiding his movements. As another creature rushed him, claws slicing through the air, Ren sidestepped and countered with a powerful elbow strike to its face, the crunch of bone echoing in his ears.

Another darted toward him, faster this time, its jagged teeth snapping hungrily. Ren grabbed his dagger from his side, the blade flashing as he lunged forward. The weapon pierced the creature’s eye socket with a sickening squelch. It screamed, an unearthly sound that rattled his bones, but he twisted the blade mercilessly before ripping it out and slashing its throat in one fluid motion. Blood sprayed, dark and sticky, but he didn’t stop.

A third came at him, claws extended like curved blades, aiming straight for his chest. Ren caught its wrists, his muscles straining as he held it back. The creature snarled, its rancid breath washing over his face, but he didn’t flinch. With a sharp twist, he forced its claws into its own eye, the wet pop followed by another guttural scream.

"Shut up," he hissed, driving his dagger deep into its chest. The creature went limp, collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.

But they just kept coming.

Ren’s breathing was ragged, his body aching from the relentless assault. He could feel his energy surging, the raw power of his beast-taming ability boiling to the surface. His eyes burned with fury as he raised his hand.

"Enough!"

A wave of energy exploded outward, crackling like wildfire. The creatures froze mid-charge, their bodies convulsing as the power enveloped them. Their shrieks grew louder, almost unbearable, the sound clawing at his eardrums. Ren gritted his teeth, forcing himself to watch as the energy burned them from the inside out.

When it was over, silence fell like a heavy shroud.

Ren staggered forward, his dagger still clutched in his bloodied hand. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air, and his chest heaved as he struggled to steady his breathing. Around him, the creatures lay still, their twisted forms now lifeless.

But as he got closer, his steps faltered.

The corpses began to shift, their monstrous features melting away. In their place, sleek fur and familiar stripes emerged. Tigers. Beautiful, majestic tigers, now lifeless and sprawled across the blood-soaked ground.

Ren’s throat tightened, and his heart twisted painfully.

"No..." he whispered, his voice barely audible. A wave of guilt crashed over him, heavy and suffocating. He’d fought to survive, but at what cost? His fists clenched, nails digging into his palms as he shut his eyes, trying to block out the sight of their lifeless forms.

"Is this...what it does to them?" he murmured, but the words felt hollow. To think that these were once tigers with lives, turned into the horrid creatures that sought blood without rest. He had hurt Reina’s people, but, "you must first be alive to feel guilt." the words flowed out of him. His sister had told him that once during their training one time. She had always taught him to finish off his enemies, but Ren believed in the greater good for people. Their spar ended up with her overturning the tables and making him submit. It was then she told him that.

He held the words close to his heart. One can only feel guilt if they are alive. If you do not fight, you will die. And all would be lost either way. But if you fight, there is always a chance of survival.

Ren picked himself up and went for the sword that was knocked out of his hand. Letting out another sigh, he pushed himself forward but not after taking a look around. He had made so many turns, he was sure he was lost. He made his way through heavy leaves and bushes as his mind raced a million thoughts. What about Von, and Luna? Were they alright?

Knowing that Luna could take care of herself, he was still worried about his friends. He had been walking for quite a while now and he was tired. He rested against a tree to catch his breath for a while, his mind never took a break. His fists tightened as the image of the corpses flashed through his memory, "whatever this corruption is? I will get rid of it." He made a solemn promise to himself.

A few drops of rain sealed the promise to the universe, Ren wasn’t expecting rain, it felt refreshing when some droplets fell on his hair and face. But the one that streamed down his nose had a strange odour, very foul. His eyes shot open with too much vigour and looking above him, he met with another horrid creature that attempted to swallow his head.

Ren let out the girliest scream he had in him, jumping away from the tree bark he was previously resting on. The creature loomed above him, latched onto the branch like a grotesque parasite. Its elongated, sinewy body glistened with a mucous-like sheen, its flesh an unnatural, reddish hue that seemed to pulse as though alive with its own rhythm. Jagged ridges lined its sides, twitching as it moved, and its mouth—oh, its mouth—was a yawning cavern of serrated, needle-like teeth, jagged and uneven, each one glistening with the same foul saliva now dripping onto Ren’s face.

The monster’s face—or what passed for one—was a twisted abomination. Two hollow, sunken sockets stared blankly, giving the impression of a skull dragged through some hellish rebirth. The sockets were not eyes but black, endless voids that seemed to leech the light around them. Its maw stretched wider, far too wide for its thin, serpentine frame, revealing a gaping abyss lined with rows of teeth spiralling inward like a fleshy vortex of torment.

The thing screeched, a high-pitched, bone-rattling sound that pierced through the forest like a dagger. It was shrill and wet, as if something was gargling glass and bile at the same time. Ren’s stomach churned, bile rising to his throat as the nauseating stench of rot and acid hit him full force.

It moved, its slimy, segmented body writhing unnaturally, like a worm infected with something far worse than any parasite. The jagged ridges along its back bristled as it prepared to strike, saliva oozing from its unholy maw in thick, viscous strands. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The creature suddenly lunged, its nightmarish mouth opening wider, aiming to engulf his head.

Ren reacted on instinct, he swung his sword. The flat of the blade smacked the creature mid-air, sending it hurtling into the underbrush with a wet thud.

He barely had time to breathe before another screech pierced the air. Then another.

Dozens of the horrors slithered into view, their malformed bodies emerging from the shadows of the forest. They moved like maggots on a carcass, writhing and twisting, their grotesque screeches rising in a cacophony of terror.

Ren gripped his sword tighter, swallowing hard as his stomach churned again. "What in all the hells are these things?!" no one was there to answer his question as more of them jumped in attack. Ren evaded them with yelps, he didn’t want their disgusting form touching him any longer, and he was desperately fighting the urge to puke, "Gross! Gross! Gross!" he took to his feet and bolted away from them, creating distance between him and the creatures.

Ren, from the depth of his heart, was tired of all the monstrosities he had seen in one day, but these guys were by far, the most disgusting things he had seen. And he wondered what they were before they became corrupted. If he saw another ugly ass monster, he would faint and Von would carry him all the way.

His idea of running away was smart, but the victory was short-lived. His head turned back to make sure they were not following but to his dismay, they were no longer crawling but jumping after him. Ren’s jaw dropped in fear, he could not believe it, "what the fuck?! Could this get any worse?!" Ren had not learned yet that you should never ask the universe if things could get any worse because it will.

So in the honour of things getting worse, the little demonic worms began to shoot bile at him, but each time they missed, it burned the earth in a sickening squelch. Ren seeing that, faced palmed himself and promised he would keep his mouth shut next time. The worms jumped faster, closing the distance between them and no matter how many circles Ren ran, they didn’t get tired. One of them almost got the acidic bile on him, Ren letting out another girly scream and evading it. It would have burned his leg if he didn’t move fast enough.

His limbs working faster than his brain, he jumped on a tree, using its branches as a springboard to get to safety. It wasn’t the smartest move, forgetting the worms could climb. Yet again, he was Appalled by how many things these worms could do apart from being bait for fish. They were closing in on him till he jumped to another tree that isn’t too far. His hand glowed with golden energy, aimed at the tree and a powerful ball of energy erupted from his palm, setting the creatures and part of the tree on fire.

They let out their nightmarish scream before they began to fall off one by one, dying slowly as the energy purified their devilish nature. Ren was covered in sweat, blood, and other disgusting things, and he was tired. He slouched against the tree, not able to hold his squatted form for too long, "I want to go home." it was a whine, but he knew he couldn’t, he had to fulfil his promise.

Moving a little to find a comfortable position, he heard a crack. His brows raised, "oh fu—" the branch gave way before he could curse to the universe and landed in the wettest sands. More than half of his body was submerged and no matter how hard he moved, he couldn’t get out.

He was stuck in quicksand.

"Dammit!" he cursed, wondering how he would get out now but instead of Ren to calm down, he panicked. Agitated with everything that was going on. He lost his friends, he got chased by the ugliest worms he had ever seen, and now he was stuck in quicksand. But the more he did abrupt movements, the more energy he lost, was he going to be stuck in it forever?

"Friend! Don’t struggle!" The familiar voice broke through his troubled thoughts, and he saw Von running to him, just to stop at the beginning of the quicksand.

"You’re alive!" he had never been so happy to see him, but his heart was palpitating when he didn’t see Luna, "where is she?!"

"Bend your body backwards! Spread your legs!" Von climbed a nearby tree, jumping branches to get on a strong enough branch of a tree that was rooted in the liquid sand. Ren did as he said and slowly, he was floating, it was working like magic. Von dropped a rope and with his fleeting strength, Ren grabbed onto it and slowly pulled himself out. Covered in the gooey mud, he could finally taste freedom as he settled on the branch beside his friend.

"I owe you my life." he had a weary smile, but his heart held worry, "where is Luna?" he asked again, and Von couldn’t even look him in the eye. Whatever happy feeling Ren had now sunk to the bottom of his stomach.

"We were thrown apart by the creatures that chased us. I looked for her everywhere but couldn’t find her. I’m sorry friend." his eyes never met him. Ren was heartbroken, the tears poked at his eyes but some part of him didn’t believe she was dead. She was stronger than that, and he could still feel her, in his shattered heart.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled his resolve, knowing he will still reunite with her, if he didnt see a body, then she was not dead. Wiping the mud off him, knowing he could not back out now, "we need to keep moving. She will find us and close this Chapter once and for all."