Chapter 54: Slaughter

  The Hive Queen glided among them like a phantom, her claws flashing in lines of pale light. Every strike landed with brutal, lethal precision.

  Garret raised his bent and mangled shield in time to catch a blow, only for her second claw to shear through his thigh without any resistance. He screamed out, toppling backward to the floor in a spray of crimson. Alex saw the Queen stoop down, her mandibles gnashing happily. She picked up the severed limb in one claw, tore away a strip of flesh from it, and swallowed before he could even hit the ground. Garret fumbled for his Teleportation Token, tears of fury already swimming down his cheeks, before vanishing in a flash of white.

  A second later, Allie screamed as a wing-beat tossed her aside and slammed her against the wall, her bones snapping like twigs. She crawled, dragging herself with bloodied fingers. The Queen’s shadow fell over her, and a single claw sank into her shoulder. Alex lunged toward her, shouting out with a shaky voice.

  “Allie!”

  But he was too slow. The claw ripped free of her body, her collarbone and shoulder torn away, chunks of flesh disappearing into the Queen’s mouth. Allie’s lips trembled as she crushed her own token, light whisking her out of the cavern before the killing blow could fall.

  Eric charged the Queen with lightning bursting along both his arms, his accompanying war cry shaking the chamber.

  The Queen caught him with one hand—one hand—dangling him by the throat. He still swung at her, and she caught that arm in her other hand before she snapped his forearm like a glass stirring rod. The lightning along his skin guttered as she raked a claw across his chest, tearing at his ribs. Eric spat blood, but his rage was unbroken even as he staggered.

  “Win… Alex!” Was all he said. Then he was gone in the next blink of light.

  Tom-Tom showed immense courage as he darted in as well, his teeth bared, the brave little fool. For a second he almost slipped beneath her guard and was poised to bring his augmented ladles to bare. But her heel came down with a crunch, pinning his tail to the floor. His shriek split the air as she plucked him up like a mouse, mandibles clicking.

  Rynel's arrows still flew, aimed perfectly to miss the kobold on his hands and strike the Queen instead. The missiles rattled against her hardened exoskeleton and careened away just as Devon's rifle shots struck the same spots, mana rounds bursting harmlessly upon impact.

  Everyone launched attacks, doing their best to free the little kobold from the Queen's grasp. But none of it worked, she backpedaled and dodged, the small lizard swinging about from the acceleration but still held firmly between her claws.

  "Coldblooded meat... how delicious." Her words barely left her clacking mouth before her head whipped forward.

  She bit, tearing away Tom-Tom's ear and a chunk of his neck before the kobold smashed his token as well, the little guy's eyes wide with terror.

  "Noo!" Alex wasn't the only one to shout that word, everyone was appalled by the Queen treating their small friend like that. They all dove at her with renewed motivation.

  Kate and Zach fought together, both their blades sparking against her chitin. Shadowy spear and fiery sword moving in offbeat tandem.

  The Queen laughed as she stepped through their assault. She spun and parried with impossible speed. Alex's fists were even knocked away, the small bit of force he could muster in his wounded state just unable to keep up.

  Lance and Ghrukk faired no better, sword and halberd, earth, and shade-fire, it all met the impossible wall that was the Queen's defenses and sheer physical stats. None of them could stop it.

  A claw sank into Kate’s gut, then another swept Zach’s left arm clean off at the elbow. Their blood hit the stones at the same time, and before either could move, she devoured the ruined limb she’d taken from Zach even in the midst of dodging Alex's [Wind Lance], as if mocking them the whole time.

  Zach's scream echoed as he vanished in white, Kate a breath after, clutching her stomach.

  Selka’s daggers slashed in desperate lines and angles, as she came in from behind, probably hoping to catch the Queen off guard mid-meal. But the Queen batted her aside, her wings tearing the skin from Selka's back as if she were skinning an animal after a kill. Selka shrieked, slamming her token before she hit the ground.

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  Rynel didn't let up, he loosed arrow after arrow, each striking true, each shattered against exoskeleton or bouncing away harmlessly. It appeared his attempts were annoying the Queen more than anyone else, as she dashed toward him in a blur, beyond anyone's capabilities to intervene. She ripped away his left leg at the knee with a vicious swipe of her tail and a tearing action from her claw, the limb was free in moments and she swallowed it whole just as quickly.

  His howl carried into the flash of his escape.

  One by one, they fell.

  One by one, they were maimed, broken, consumed in part before the escape tokens saved them.

  Every flash of white light left Alex’s chest tighter, his fury burning deeper. But he couldn’t stop her. They fought frantically, launching spells and attacks, but the damage the Queen received just wasn’t enough. Minor cuts and gashes had built on her body at this point, but she barely bled.

  Alex’s fist struck hard chitin, and it felt as though his hand was damaged more than she was with every exchange. She simply dodged and deflected the rest, sending attacks and attackers alike flying with punches or kicks of her own before descending on a chosen target.

  And then, the Queen turned to focus on Holly.

  The air mage danced backward, feet blurring with her [Wind Stride], hair whipping around her face. She was fast—gods, she was fast—but not fast enough. The Queen darted forward, claws scissoring, and her mandibles clamped down around Holly’s calf.

  The crunch was sickening. Bone and flesh ripped free with a tug. Holly’s scream pierced Alex’s heart like a blade. She collapsed, clutching her ruined leg, blood pumping onto the floor.

  “HOLLY!” Alex roared, tearing forward, his body ablaze with violet-blue fury of his martial style. But he was too far away to make a difference. Too slow.

  The Queen chewed, savoring the taste, before tossing the bloody fragment of her limb aside. Her eyes locked on Holly like a predator enjoying the chase.

  “No, no, no, please,” Holly gasped, trying to crawl away. She was already in shock.

  “Holly, use the token!” Alex begged, the words cracking in his throat. He slid across the floor, hands reaching, his own broken and tattered limbs screaming in protest of his attempts.

  “I won’t leave you!” she sobbed, face streaked with tears and blood.

  “PLEASE!” Alex bellowed desperately. He finally reached them and placed himself between Holly and the Queen, the chimera pausing her advance to watch his actions in apparent curiosity. Her creepily human-like face looked almost amused, like she was seeing a live performance of her favorite soap opera. “If you stay, you die, and I can’t—” his throat caught, “I can’t lose you too! GO!”

  Holly’s trembling hand fumbled at her chest, finding the token. Her eyes locked on his one last time. “Don’t you dare die, Alex…”

  With a flash, she was gone.

  The silence that followed was suffocating. Holly was the last ally that had remained. The Queen had forced everyone else to flee, Devon, Cole, Doran, Myrae, Ghrukk, Sarson, all of them had used their tokens too. Only Alex remained in the throne room. Alone, bleeding, without a single hope in the world.

  And across from him, the Hive Queen stood tall, wings half-spread, mandibles dripping with the liquid essence of his many comrades. Her hexagonal eyes locked onto him with terrible hunger.

  “Now…” she purred, her voice ringing in the vast chamber, “just you and me.”

  He stood alone in the blood-soaked cavern, every nerve and tendon in his body screaming, but nothing screamed louder than the fire in his mind. His gaze traced the floor. Pooled blood, shredded flesh, splattered muscle all littered the area.

  Holly’s leg... Henry’s hand... Tom-Tom is probably bleeding out even now. He thought. All the sacrifices of his friends seared into his mind, and in the reflection of those stains, he saw failure, his failure.

  Inside his soulspace, a ripple caught his attention.

  He looked inward to the strange void of his mind as he heard Adam’s voice call out to him. His brother’s image appeared in his mind, just lke it had in the Dark Den Dungeon, as clear as if he stood there in front of him back on Earth. Smug, pitying in its softness.

  “Are you ready, Alex? Or are you still the scared little boy at the edge of the public pool? Too weak to jump, too weak to swim?”

  The words dug deep. But Alex didn’t falter. His lips curled into a snarl. “Get the fuck out of my head. I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone.”

  He swiped his hand dismissively, and the hallucination faded, leaving only the pure tremor of his fury radiating in his soulspace. Revenge, anger, pain; those are the things he allowed himself to feel. He didn’t have time for self-pity or doubt. Didn’t have time to deal with his insignificant self-esteem issues involving his brother.

  He had never gone all out before. In previous fights, he always held back something, always had a measured control restraining his skills, afraid of what might happen if he lost himself. But now? There was no one left to protect. No one left to shield from his darkness.

  “Meatboy, she’s basically late-stage Adept. An Arcane beast with stats stacked sky high. You’ve got no chance of winning this fight.”

  Alex gritted his teeth, feeling the cracks in his arms, the sting of blood pouring down his ribs. “I don’t care.” His words were rock steady now, he was determined. “I’m not here to win. I’m here to kill her.”

  The Queen chuckled. It was a sound that slithered across his skin like molten rock, burning him even further. Her eyes glittered with malice, her wings shifted, even her posture was mocking.

  “Come, toy,” she purred. “Entertain your Queen.”

  His stance changed, feet planted and knees bent, his fists curling tight. The aura of the [Demon Asura Style] roared to life, flooding over his skin and into his veins like poison fire. Azure horns flickered above his brow, ethereal and shifting, and shadows crawled up his arms, wrapping his muscles in phantom flame.

  The accompanying agony of his martial style's aura came instantly, a thousand knives digging into his bones, and Alex laughed. He relished it, embraced it.

  “I’ll show you entertainment.”

  With a roar, Alex dashed forward.