And Just Like That I Obtained a System

Chapter 4 Part II. When Heroes Fall. The Berserker

All except Alice. She remained collapsed on the ground, her confidence and her mind both shattered beyond anything the others could reach.

Alice, can you hear me? Hello, Alice.

Blade tried calling her name, but she didnt respond. She didnt even seem to hear him. Tears fell silently from eyes that stared at nothing.

Hey, Alice. Can you fight?

Nothing came back except the quiet sound of weeping.

Cap, leave her be, Kage said quietly. She has no will to fight anymore. Let her be. We fight without her.

Blade nodded, grim and resigned. Then we fight with what we have.

The air changed a moment later. A thick, oppressive crimson aura began to seep into the chamber, slow and heavy, like blood spreading through water. It didnt drift. It oozed, thick and wrong, as if the air itself had started to bleed.

The temperature spiked hard enough to make breathing difficult, the atmosphere suddenly tasting of copper and ash and something older than either.

The hounds stopped circling. All of them turned toward the same point in the darkness beyond the barrier. Then, one by one, they began to lose whatever animal restraint theyd had left. Their howls twisted into something closer to screaming, high and ragged, sounds no ordinary beast should have been able to make.

Three of the hounds began convulsing violently. Their bodies twisted unnaturally as crimson energy poured into them. Bones shifted beneath their fur. Their frames grew larger, their muscles thickening as the aura forced their bodies through a terrifying transformation.

Their eyes changed from molten gold to a deep, saturated crimson. Then they rose onto two legs. Not quite human. Close enough to be worse than not human at all.

Their howls deepened into something closer to roars, low and aware in a way that made the hair on every arm in the chamber stand up. Their claws lengthened into jagged blades that shimmered faintly with residual heat, and the air around their bodies rippled like a heat mirage.

Mutated.

Whatever had awakened in the deep darkness of the chamber was feeding them, pouring its aura into their bodies like poison into a vein, forcing evolution through sheer will. Reshaping them into something built to kill Hunters.

What, Roy whispered, staring at them. Thats an Eplus mutated beast. Thats close to DRank. Maybe higher.

Blades face drained of color. Yeah, he said, his voice hollow. I remember now. Two DRanks and five ERanks barely took one down.

Three years ago.

The words dropped into the room like stones into still water.

How do you know that? Roy asked, though part of him clearly didnt want the answer.

Blades eyes had gone somewhere else entirely, somewhere dark, somewhere three years in the past.

Because I was one of them.

The temperature seemed to drop further.

And whats worse, Blades voice cracked. I was the only one who survived.

Nobody moved.

Tell me youre joking, Kim said, almost pleading. Please tell me youre joking.

Im not.

Before anyone could respond, one of the mutated hounds began to move. Not rushing. Not frenzied. Just walking. Slow and deliberate, like a predator that already knew the outcome and wanted to savor the wait. Fire laced saliva dripped from its jaw, hissing where it touched the stone.

Here they come, Blade said, steadier now, sword raised. Get ready.

The mutates pace increased. Faster. Then faster again. Until it simply wasnt there anymore. Only a trail of crimson fog marked where it had been.

Where did it go? Blade snapped, spinning with his sword raised.

Then Roy saw it. On top.

His warning came a half second too late. The mutate was already perched above them on the edge of the barrier, grinning down with too many teeth, its crimson eyes burning with something disturbingly close to intelligence.

Kages head snapped upward. The claw was already coming down. His mind made the decision before hed fully processed it. He didnt run from the danger. He ran toward Alice. She was still kneeling near the entrance, completely defenseless and lost somewhere far inside herself.

The claw came down like a blade dropping. The barrier didnt crack. It shattered outright. A burst of magical energy exploded through the chamber as fragments of the barrier scattered across the ground.

Roy dropped to his knees, his mana completely spent. Damn it. It broke.

He looked toward the others. Guys.

The mutate landed inside the perimeter. Graceful. Almost casual. Its claws immediately descended toward Roy.

Blades sword caught the blow. CLANG. For half a heartbeat, he held. Then the force won. Blade was thrown backward, crashing against the cavern wall before dropping to the ground.

Blade. Roys cry echoed through the chamber.

Kage kept running. Behind him, another mutate raised its clawed hand. The surrounding hounds surged forward as one. They were no longer wild. They were coordinated. Thinking. Hunting.

Theyre working together, Kim said, horror creeping into his voice. Theyre hunting us like prey.

Kage reached Alice. He grabbed her arm. Alice.

Nothing. She didnt respond.

Kage gritted his teeth and pulled her away from the approaching hounds. He threw her toward the entrance with everything he had left. She tumbled across the ground and came to a stop. Still no reaction.

Kage spun around. He sprinted back toward the others. I have to get back.

The hounds crashed toward Roy. He raised his sword with shaking arms, but without mana left, he could barely hold them back.

Shield ready, he said, though it sounded more like a prayer than an order.

Kim stood beside him, his determination flickering beneath the weight of fear. Were going to die here.

Kage. Roy shouted.

Kage turned. Yeah?

The potions. You still have those buff potions.

Which ones?

The strength ones. The ones we saved.

Kim dug through his pack with shaking hands and pulled out a vial glowing faint blue. Found it.

He looked at the vial. But its the last one.

Kages eyes moved between the three mutates. One potion. Three mutates. Dozens of hounds. Not nearly enough. But it was what they had.

Throw it.

Kim looked at him. What?

Throw it. We might have a shot.

Kim tossed the vial. Kage caught it mid stride. He charged toward the nearest mutate.

If the liquid gets into its eyes, we might get an opening.

He threw. The vial spun through the air, trailing faint blue light as it headed straight toward the mutates face.

Then the mutate made a strange sound. Not a howl. A command. One of the ordinary hounds immediately leapt into the path. The potion struck the creature instead. The vial shattered uselessly.

Kages blood ran cold. The mutate looked directly at him. Almost amused.

The strike came a heartbeat later. Kage barely raised his arms before the attack sent him flying backward. He crashed against the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop. His chest burned. His breath came out ragged.

He forced himself to move. Not yet. He pushed himself onto one knee.

Kage. Roys cry came from behind him.

Kage looked up. The moment of distraction cost Roy. The hounds hit him from multiple directions. His shield was knocked from his hand. The mutate stepped forward.

Roy tried to rise. He couldnt. The creature struck. Roy was thrown across the chamber. He landed hard and didnt move.

Roy. Kim froze.

Then the hounds turned toward him. His hands tightened around his weapon. No.

They rushed him. Kim barely had time to raise his arms before the swarm overwhelmed him. When the hounds scattered, Kim lay motionless near the cavern wall.

Blade watched everything from where he lay. Unable to rise. Unable to help. One by one, everyone he was supposed to protect had fallen.

Roy. Kim. Kage. Alice had already been broken before the fight had even truly begun.

Everyone I swore I wouldnt let die. Not again.

Something inside Blade broke.

Not again. His voice was raw. I wont let you take them.

His fingers tightened around his sword. His eyes slowly turned a deep, burning red.

Ill kill every last one of you.

Something changed. His breathing became heavier. His muscles tightened. Veins stood out along his arms and neck as crimson energy began pouring from his body. The aura around him grew thicker. Darker. More violent. The sword in his hand trembled.

Blade slowly rose. The hounds stopped. Even the mutates turned toward him.

Blade lifted his head. His eyes were no longer those of the leader who had been fighting beside them moments ago. They belonged to something else. Something furious. Something that knows no fear.

And his eyes started going crimson. Believing every one of his friends already dead. And in that belief, twisted and wrong as it was, lay the only thing that might still save them.

To be continued.