Wrath of the Extra-Chapter 40: Entrance Exam XIX

The forest talks.

"Oh shit," I’m suddenly regretting trying to challenge Valeria.

The ear-piercing noise builds until the sound swallows itself, a choir of claws and animal chittering.

Then eyes ignite in the canopy—black beads with pale seams trailing down the fur along their spines.

Threadbacks. F-rank Corrupted. The reason behind Nicklas’s poo hunt.

Well, he certainly knows how to foreshadow, at least.

"Cht—Cht—Cht...!"

The first drops from a tree with uncanny dexterity. It’s a large, fox-sized black squirrel, its teeth glinting like surgical steel.

It stares at me, inching closer. Why me? Why not Nicklas or Valeria? Fuck my Luck stat!

"Get Cossa," I order in a hushed voice to Valeria, turning my sword onto the lone Corrupted.

She swiftly scoops Cossa up with ease. Nicklas is frozen in fear.

The creature lunges.

With practiced ease, I simultaneously sidestep and slash upward, decapitating the fucked up mammal mid air.

The body hurls to the ground. Its brain matter spills onto the ground, the jaw still chewing even as blood pours out. For a moment, I feel that we can stand against them. F-ranked Corrupted are fodder to me.

But my victory is incredibly short-lived.

Threadbacks flood from the trees in heaps.

Dozens—tens of dozens—tens of tens of dozens—of Threadbacks drop in sheets like a tsunami, each one a line of vicious hunger. They don’t wait for their turn; they come all at once.

I don’t have to shout ’run’; if every iota of your being isn’t screaming ’run’ already, then you deserve to die. Even Nicklas moves, and faster than I thought possible of him— at least, under normal circumstances. These are anything but.

Valeria’s already moving, carrying Cossa like a sack of flour—on her bad shoulder, mind you, which was surely done solely to spite me.

We bolt through the forest, weaving past bushes, over logs, and between trees. My vision is dyed black every time I look over my shoulder. Holy shit. They scuttle in a big

A Threadback scratches my back. Not pleasantly—it’s absolutely excruciating. Then another manages to actually cling to my back.

My soulsteel prosthetic reaches around, grasping the rodent before squeezing with all my might.

CRACK.

The Threadback’s spine snaps before it can effectively dig into mine. It falls off, thudding against the rumbling ground behind me.

We cut through branches, the horde chasing, the chittering so thick it feels like it’s inside my ears. Endangered makes me want to grab my skull and curl up into a ball, but I push through. I have to.

I snap another glance behind. Nicklas trips, nearly swallowed. I slow, then yank the front of his collar and throw him forward in stride.

"Move!" I yell.

That near-death experience puts more pep in his step, but Nicklas is extremely weak physically. I don’t know how long his adrenaline rush will last.

Valeria tears through several Threadbacks, her blade savagely and fluidly weaving through those that get too close. Her controlled chaos is mesmerizingly terrifying.

Another one leaps; she grabs it by the scruff and smashes its skull against a passing tree as we run full speed.

Her steps pick up. Those yellow eyes are brighter—hungrier. Vigorous. An aura of tangible danger surrounds her, darkening her form.

It’s her Imprint, Bloodthirst.

She’s getting exponentially stronger with each kill. The way she throws herself into the swarm isn’t just courage, but appetite. Cossa is no longer a hindrance to her, but a mere accessory.

I Misty Step to avoid another Threadback leaping out of the trees, then slash through the next one that lunges at Nicklas’s throat. He’s mindlessly flailing at them with Nelly’s dagger.

My Essence is already flagging—one-third left the tank and bleeding.

I have just enough for this gambit:

Passing a thick oak, I activate Tremors before running it through the tree at an angle.

The wood cracks and creaks, crashing into the flood behind us. A dozen mindless beasts get squashed underneath. The horde is slowed for only a few seconds, but it’s still something.

We burst into a slight clearing. Then something strange scratches at my eye corners.

Shadows shift at the far edges of the clearing. At first, I think more Threadbacks, until I notice the taller, odd forms. Faint commotion. Metal blades barely catch light.

Humans.

Our original hunters have found us. Maskless now, too. They’ve given up the bit.

"Landeskogs!" I bellow to my teammates. "Keep Cossa safe, Valeria! They want him."

I don’t look for a reply. I trust her ability to carry out Leara’s orders; she’ll keep him safe. Instead, I’m having to eye both the Landeskogs and the Threadback horde.

Endangered swells. I use Misty Step for a few feet, dodging clear of a crossbow bolt.

My eyes focus on the treeline.

Bursting out is the red-eyed masked attacker I’d seen earlier. The one who stared us down as we left:

Gabriel of Lomberg. The little rat bastard was a double agent for the Landeskogs the entire time. He duped me, quite frankly, but I should’ve known better.

Maximillian Stamkos. The Thunderbolt. I watch as electricity begins to lace his arms, his legs, sparks crawling like veins outside the skin. He steps like lightning itself is holding his heels.

Crimson flashes past me. Cossa is hurled onto my shoulder.

Valeria growls like a vicious animal, her eyes as wide as her grin.

Valeria dives straight into the front line at blistering speeds, blade flashing, face twisted into euphoria.

I stagger with Cossa’s weight before settling—I’m strong as well. He groans, half-lucid. At first, it seems like he wants to flop off and try and escape, but then he slowly realizes that we’re in deep shit and stays still.

Half the Threadbacks break off to meet the now-revealed Landeskogs

The clash is insanity. Quite frankly, I’m overstimulated by everything. Endangered makes me want to kill myself. How counterintuitive is that?

Lightning arcs from Maximillian’s hands, frying a dozen into charred fur but twenty more fill the gaps.

Valeria throws her full weight into the unknowing Thunderbolt. Then Gabriel stabs Valeria through the back of the leg, only to be backhanded into oblivion.

Both Landeskog leaders are sent flying—Valeria is at the peak of Bloodthirst, and it’s turned her into a literal demigod of war.

She turns to the encroaching Threadbacks on our tail, tunneling through them like a meat grinder.

I slash, pivot, parry, letting my prosthetic arm tank bites rather than Cossa eating them. I’m quite thoughtful.

But there’s still more. Too many. How much longer can we run like this?

Nicklas stumbles beside me, eyes wide, dagger useless. Not long, apparently. For fucks sake.

He kicks at a Threadback, watching wide-eyed as the flood of squirrels rapidly approaches.

I cut down another, holster my sword, then drag Nicklas by the scruff again with my lone free hand.

"Keep going!"

We’re drowning. I don’t know if there’s an end in sight, especially if I keep saving Nicklas.

I stare up at the sky. Camera Artifacts linger ominously, now revealed. I hope the show is worth it, fucking bastards.

Valeria devastated the Landeskog line before returning in stride with us. Even she looks sluggish, especially after nearly dying to Gabriel.

"There are too many!" Nicklas screeches.

"No shit!"

Nicklas’s face twitches as he stares blankly, then he snaps to attention. "Yes...! That’s it! Shit!"

For fuck’s sake, he’s gone fully daft. Looks like I’ll have to finally leave him to die after all.

His eyes snap wide, darting to the ground. His voice cracks. "The droppings... they—the calcium! There are these chemicals in it. It makes a chemical reaction... that they react to! We can—"

I unsheathe my sword and slash another squirrel in half. Get to the point already!

"Fuck, fuck... fuck. Fuck it!" Nicklas curses. Watch your damn language. It’s childish. "Just watch me!"

I watch with faint hope in my eyes...

...As my mule scoops Threadback shit off the ground.