Chapter 11 Berserk
- Tenka's P.O.V. -
Since the encounter with the jester, I feel my blood boiling. It's not just adrenaline; it's something foreign. It feels like my dream from the past week, where I am standing inside a volcano. The heat is suffocating. I can barely think straight through the red haze clouding my vision.
Red comes close, sensing the shift in my aura. He licks my hand, his rough tongue grounding me, and passes a bit of his cool, steady power into my skin. I snap out of my bloodlust state, the red haze receding just enough to let me breathe.
Thank you. -
(The birds can't go there now with the fire and smoke rising from the trap field, so I sent Eldo to find Sam. I don't want anybody to die today. He's our only hope. I don't think any of the new recruits can avoid those burning chains.)
I turn to the warriors, my voice cold and steady.
Leave the crazy red man to me and Red. Make sure the others can't reach the defense line. -
The fire is done burning the underbrush. There is still danger—embers, hot ash, smoke—but the enemy won't get more than major burns in the best-case scenario for us.
The enemies reach the trenches. They come two by two, forced into bottlenecks by the terrain, and have to slow their momentum to climb over the charred logs.
That's when I announce the offensive.
NOW! -
The training stuck in. The girls didn't panic. They selected their targets in the order they were positioned, just like we practiced. No wasted double hits on the same target.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Five dead instantly. Three wounded, screaming on the ground.
Second wave. They try to push past the bodies.
Thwack.
Five dead. Two double hits—mistakes happen, but lethal ones.
(Damn, can't blame them. Some of the girls are shaking so hard from the first hit that they can barely reload or grab a new spear...)
Third wave. The men are smarter now. They use the bodies of their fallen comrades as cover, pushing the corpses forward like shields. But it's useless against high ground. The trenches are not deep enough to hide them completely. They are in a bad spot.
Ten more dead. More are pouring in from the smoke.
One of our shaky girls, Mily, pukes her guts out from the gruesome sight of a spear piercing a man's neck. She wipes her mouth, tears in her eyes, and grabs another spear. Good girl.
The men run as much as they can, desperate to close the distance. Around thirty of them are now almost in front of us, clambering over the barricades.
Hurry up! Don't stop shooting! Once they reach the last trench, the Generals, the wolves, and I are going in. The rest, just shoot the ones who get past us. Don't hit your friends! -
Fourth wave. Eight dead and two wounded.
Then, a sharp thud echoes next to my head.
An arrow vibrates in the wooden barricade, inches from my ear.
ARROWS!! -
This is what I was worried about. Now this is mayhem—unpredictable and dangerous. We have the advantage in melee, but not in a shootout.
We can't reach bowmen with our spears in the open! Grab your stuff and retreat to the second defense line! -
The retreat is chaotic but fast. The second defense line is just another wooden barricade, but deeper in the forested area where the trees are thickest. We put a bunch of tree stands, rope bridges, and ladders up there to fight among the canopy.
We—the six strongest warriors, the wolves, and I—stay behind a bit to cover the retreat. We flicker between the trees, using the shadows. We kill those who pass by the ranged area, striking from the dark.
Nine more dead. But they are getting closer.
- Marcus P.O.V. -
(Hahaha! Amazing! They get swatted like flies!)
I watch the fodder fall into pits and get skewered by spears. It's hilarious! Like a puppet show where someone cut the strings.
I turn around and point a gloved finger at five archers who are cowering behind a tree.
YOU'RE COMING WITH MEEEE~! -
I march forward, skipping over a severed arm, but they don't follow. They just stare at me.
Hahahaha! Funny! -
I cast my Hell Chains nowhere in particular. They manifest from the shadows, rattling with the sound of screaming souls, glowing with hellfire. I jiggle them while doing a little tap dance.
Rattle, rattle! -
The archers pale. They look at the chains, then at me. They realize the traps are safer than I am. They give up and run to my side.
Hahaha! Don't get Daddy angry, hoooo~ Sinners! Go forth and massacre those little girls! Hahaha! -
We get to the front line to see a pile of corpses and whining cannon fodder.
Hahahah! There's not even half of us left! Beno is going to be sooooo mad! -
Over there, through the smoke, I see my favorite little girl. The one with the glowing green eyes. I just run to her with a happy face.
LITTLE GIRL! HAHAHA! -
I slash my daggers at her, cast the chains to bind her legs, and attack again. She parries the daggers, evades the chain with a backflip, and retreats into the trees.
Don't run, little girl! Let's play! -
Tenka shouts to her friends.
RETREAT! -
(She leaves! Noooo! My new toy~! I need to follow her! She's the only fun thing in this boring forest!)
I follow her for a while, dashing past the clumsy wolves and terrified men. She is fast, but I am chaos!
She disappears behind a thick oak. I round the corner, ready to strike—
Slash!
She reappears beside me, slashing her short sword at my neck. I lean back, the blade cutting a few strands of my beautiful red hair.
From the other side, a massive red blur charges at me. Fast. Too fast for a beast.
I can only back off, throwing a chain to block the jaws that try to bite my head off. I skid backward, laughing maniacally.
IS THAT A PUPPY?! HAHAHA! AMAZING! -
- Sam's P.O.V. -
I ran with all my might. My lungs are burning, but the bad feeling in my gut is burning hotter.
I break through the tree line and almost collide with the retreating group—the old, the young, the ones carrying the supplies.
I question two warriors who are guarding the rear.
What happened?! -
They are panting, terrified. They point back toward the camp and show their bloodied lances.
The men! The men broke through! Arrows! -
Barabas steps out from the bush behind me, letting out a low growl. The warriors scream.
Haaaaaa! -
They scramble back, dropping their weapons. They can't hold their voices when they see a four-meter-tall red nightmare standing there.
SHUT UP! -
The face I make must be terrifying because they shut up instantly. My stress is getting to me. I don't have time for explanations.
- Barabas, let's go. Don't kill the women. They are with me. -
He grunts, understanding the distinction between "prey" and "pack."
I run toward the camp, followed by the giant red bear. The ground thunders with our steps.
I reach the second defense line just in time to see the chaos. The wooden barricades are splintering. Arrows are flying everywhere.
And then I see it.
Salaba. My "big sister." She is trying to help a younger girl up a ladder.
Thwack.
An arrow takes her in the shoulder, spinning her around. She falls hard.
My heart hurts all of a sudden. It's a physical squeeze, like a cold hand crushing the organ.
ROAR!! -
ROAR!! -
The ground shakes from our combined pain and sadness. Barabas and I just lose our cool. Me because of Sal's condition, and him because he smells it—the scent of the Clown. One of the people who slaughtered his family. He can feel my distress, the same feeling he had when he arrived too late.
We snap, as the pain feedback into each other in a amplifying loop of present and past pain.
I throw my new spear with everything I have. It crosses the battlefield in a blur and impales two archers, standing in a line, including the bastard who shot Salaba, in one shot, pinning them to a tree like dolls.
I draw my broken, jagged knife.
I rush at the fodder, and I am not fighting; I am exterminating. I drop them like flies, weaving through arrows or batting them off course with my hardened skin hands.
Then, a strange slash comes at me. It's compressed air, faster than anything anybody has thrown at me before.
I slash with my broken knife, filling it with my own inner power until it glows blindingly bright.
BANG!
The wind slash splits in two, destroying the trees behind me. I'm left unscathed, though the ground around me is torn up.
I cross eyes with a middle-aged man holding a claymore. He looks dangerous. He also looks like the leader.
Beno looks at me, surprised.
- So it's just a boy! You're the one giving me all that trouble? Well, shit... I wish you were on my team. What do you say, mmm? -
The guy speaks the native language. I barely understand a few words, but the tone is unmistakable. Arrogance. Greed.
Fuck you! -
I shout it in English, but the sentiment translates perfectly.
My weapon is fully charged. It's vibrating, on the verge of crumbling into dust.
I make a decision. I flood my body. I use my inner power in my legs, abdomen, arms, neck, eyes, and brain—something I did before, but never like this. Never all at once.
The world slows down.
Once the power reaches my brain, I come out of my berserk state of mind. The red haze lifts, replaced by crystal-clear, hyper-focused perception. I feel every heartbeat, every shift in the wind.
I flicker.
One moment I am ten meters away; the next, I am in front of him.
I deliver a lateral slash. I can tell he will block it. He's fast, skilled, but my aim isn't just to kill him. It's to break him in half, along his sword.
My power and strength in this state are double his, easily. But I know the cost. My heart, eyes, brain, and veins hurt. Everything will hurt badly tomorrow. If there is a tomorrow.
CLANK!
He blocks it!
The impact pushes him back three meters, his boots carving trenches in the dirt. His sword, a fine piece of steel, is bent halfway at a ninety-degree angle. There is a clear cut mark on it where my knife hit. I didn't manage to slice them both, but his weapon is useless now.
I grin, blood dripping from my nose.
- G... Good sword... Asshole! I want it! -
I blurt in broken native tongue.
(If that sword was mine, he would be dead!)
Beno looks at his ruined blade, then at me. He sees the monster in my eyes.
The asshole just retreats... Smart asshole. He runs as fast as he can, shouting at his men to do the same, using them as shields to impede me from pursuing him.
- RETREAT! KILL THE BOY! -
Arrows fly at me. I dodge and deflect them, but the distraction is enough. With the remaining people gathering to cover his escape, I can't catch him anymore without leaving my people vulnerable.
At least we got his crazy friend...
I look over to where Tenka was fighting.
Barabas is there. He isn't roaring anymore. He is tearing at a piece of grounded human meat that used to be a jester. The red clothes are now just red rags.
People just look at him in horror. Some of them puke.
But then, amidst the carnage, Tenka looks up.
She and I lock eyes.
She smiles.
The rest of the world just fades away. The screams, the fire, the blood—it all becomes background noise.
She removes her bandana, revealing her face, smeared with soot but beautiful. She walks to me, stepping over bodies without looking down.
I lean in and give her our first real kiss.
Of course, a kiss on a bloody battlefield is a cliché. It's stupid. It's unsanitary. Shame doesn't mean a thing here, but to me, it does... I'm sure to her, too. It's a promise. We survived.
I pull back, realizing how dramatic I'm being.
- Cough.. I'm home. -
I grab her hand and start walking toward the rest of the tribe. The warriors follow, exchanging smirks and giggles despite the horror they just survived.
Of course, I didn't forget Barabas. I walk over to him. He's panting, his muzzle stained. I put a hand on his flank and push a bit of power into his body. He calms down instantly, the rage leaving his eyes.
He wanted to go catch the rest of them. I can feel the urge in the link, but I stopped him.
("No. We're not at our 100% right now. We can't chase them into the dark. We wait. They will be back again. If not... we go to them later.")
I take Tenka and go check on Salaba. I carry her near my cabin, which miraculously survived the chaos.
- You guys set up camp, but only for the night! We leave tomorrow. This place is compromised. -
Then we disappear into the cabin for the night.
I fix up Sal's shoulder first. Luckily, the arrow passed through muscle and didn't nip an artery or shatter the bone. Everything went perfectly; after my practice with stitching up a mangled bear, patching a human shoulder feels like delicate embroidery. I have everything I need.
Salaba passes out from the pain and the medicine, resting peacefully.
I turn to Tenka, who is quietly watching at my side. She looks exhausted. Her aura is flickering.
I grab her by the waist. She melts into me. I pull us onto the bed.
Our very souls feel some relief being close to each other. The "volcano" inside her settles into a warm hearth. The "crater" on my arm stops throbbing.
We fall asleep in a naked embrace, skin to skin, heart to heart.
(Too young yet for anything else, sorry. But this... this is enough.)