The GOD-SLAYER'S INFINITE REGRESSION

Escape from Ouroboros

"Move! Keep moving!" I shouted. My voice echoed through the damp tunnels of the Valerius Catacombs.

Fifty slaves stumbled behind me. They were covered in filth and blood. Jace was at the front, holding a torch that flickered in the draft.

"Vaxen, the guards are behind us!" Jace yelled. "I can hear the hounds!"

"Don't look back, Jace!" I barked. "Focus on the path!"

"How do you even know where we’re going?" Lyra panted. She was carrying a wounded girl on her back. "These tunnels haven't been mapped in centuries!"

"I know every stone in this hell," I said. "Turn left at the next junction!"

"Left?" a man named Krell shouted. "That leads deeper into the sewer! We should go right toward the service lift!"

"The lift is a trap, Krell!" I snarled. "Malek has snipers waiting at the top!"

"You don't know that!" Krell slowed down. "I'm taking my chances with the lift! Who's with me?"

Five slaves stopped. They looked between me and Krell.

"Stay with Vaxen!" Jace pleaded. "He killed the Butcher! He knows the way!"

"He’s a slave just like us!" Krell spat. "He’s just lucky! I'm leaving!"

"Fine," I said. I didn't stop running. "Die if you want. The rest of you, follow me!"

We reached the junction. I led them into the narrow, foul-smelling sewer pipe. A moment later, a muffled explosion rocked the tunnel from the right. Screams followed. Then silence.

"Krell?" Lyra whispered, her face turning pale.

"He’s gone," I said. "Now move. We have three minutes before the gas vents open."

"Gas?" Jace shrieked. "What gas?"

"The System’s automated cleaning cycle," I said. "It purges the tunnels every hour. We need to reach the blast door."

"Vaxen, the girl!" Lyra stumbled. "She’s too heavy! I can't keep up!"

"Leave her," I said.

"What?" Lyra stopped. She stared at me with pure horror. "She’s just a child! You saved me in the infirmary! Why won't you save her?"

"Saving you was a strategic move," I said. "She’s dead weight. She’ll slow us all down. If the gas hits, fifty people die because of one."

"You monster!" Lyra cried. "You’re just like them! You only care about the numbers!"

"I care about survival!" I shouted back.

The sound of baying hounds grew louder. The shadows on the wall began to stretch. The guards were close. I looked at the red screen floating in my peripheral vision.

[SYSTEM PROMPT: STRATEGIC CHOICE DETECTED.]

[OPTION A: ESCAPE ALONE. CHANCE OF SURVIVAL: 99%. KARMA GAIN: 0.]

[OPTION B: PROTECT THE GROUP. CHANCE OF SURVIVAL: 40%. KARMA GAIN: MASSIVE.]

"Vaxen, please!" Jace begged. He had stopped next to Lyra. "We can't just leave her here to be eaten by dogs!"

"The hounds are C-Rank beasts," I said. "If I stay to fight them, the blast door might close on us."

"Then go!" Lyra screamed. "Run to your precious freedom! We’ll stay here!"

I looked at the group. They were all staring at me. They weren't soldiers. They were broken people looking for a god.

"Dammit," I hissed.

"Vaxen?" Jace asked.

"Pick her up, Jace!" I commanded. "Lyra, take the lead! Run toward the light at the end of this pipe!"

"What are you doing?" Lyra asked.

"I'm going to earn some currency," I said.

I turned around. I drew the shadow blade. The darkness of the tunnel seemed to flow into the steel. Three hounds burst around the corner. They were massive, hairless things with glowing red eyes. Behind them, ten guards in tactical armor leveled their crossbows.

"Target sighted!" the lead guard yelled. "It’s the glitch! Kill him!"

"Jace, go! Now!" I roared.

I didn't wait for them to move. I lunged. I didn't use a skill. I used pure, refined murder. I sliced the head off the first hound before it could bark. I spun, driving my elbow into the second hound’s ribs.

"He's insane!" a guard shouted. "Fire! Fire!"

Bolts hissed through the air. I danced between them. To my eyes, they were moving like dragonflies. I closed the gap in two seconds.

"My turn," I said.

I swept the shadow blade in a wide circle. Four guards lost their heads instantly. The others scrambled back, their boots splashing in the sewage.

"What are you?" the captain gasped. He dropped his crossbow and reached for a thermal grenade.

"I'm the guy who’s ruining your quota," I said.

I grabbed his wrist and snapped it. I took the grenade and kicked him into the water.

"Vaxen! The door is closing!" Jace yelled from the distance.

I looked back. The heavy stone slab was sliding down. Jace and the others were on the other side, holding it up with a metal beam.

"Get through!" Lyra screamed.

I looked at the remaining guards. I could kill them all. I could farm every last bit of experience. But the red screen was flashing.

[ALERT: 49 DESTINIES AT RISK.]

[KARMA MULTIPLIER ACTIVE.]

I turned and sprinted. The hounds were nipping at my heels. I dove under the closing slab just as it crushed the metal beam. The tunnel shook with the force of the impact.

I tumbled into the dry dirt of the outer cavern. I stood up, coughing. Jace and Lyra were staring at me.

"You stayed," Lyra whispered. She looked at the girl in Jace's arms. "You actually stayed for us."

"Don't get used to it," I said.

[UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENT: SHEPHERD OF THE DAMNED.]

[49 DESTINIES PRESERVED.]

[EARNED: 15,000 KARMA.]

I stared at the number. My heart skipped a beat. 15,000. In my past life, it took me a year to earn that much.

"Vaxen, your face," Jace said. "You're smiling. It's actually scary."

"I just realized something, Jace," I said.

"What?" Lyra asked.

"Mercy isn't a weakness," I said. "It’s the greatest power-up in the Store."

"You're a strange man, Vaxen," Lyra said. She wiped blood from her forehead. "But I suppose we owe you."

"You owe me your lives," I said. "And I intend to collect. We aren't out yet."

"What do you mean?" Jace asked. "We're through the blast door!"

"Look up," I said.

We were at the bottom of a massive ventilation shaft. Five hundred feet above us, the night sky was visible. But it wasn't empty. Dozens of searchlights were sweeping the clouds. I could hear the rhythmic thrum of System gunships.

"They're waiting for us at the surface," Lyra whispered.

"No," I said, opening the Store menu. "They're waiting for the old me."

"And the new you?" Jace asked.

"The new me is about to buy a flight," I said.

I scrolled through the movement skills. I found what I needed.

"Everyone, grab a piece of my cloak," I commanded.

"Why?" Lyra asked.

"Because we're about to break the sound barrier," I said.

The sound of the guards drilling through the blast door behind us intensified. We were trapped between a mountain of iron and a sky full of cannons.

"Vaxen, the door is cracking!" Jace yelled.

"Hold on tight!" I shouted.

I pressed the purchase button.