But just before he pressed the trigger, the Defiled had turned its head.
Thwip.
The shot grazed the figure's hood. Dark green ray blinked and faded. The execution was too slow. It saw or felt him coming.
Fuck. He should've practiced shooting more. Dad always said he needed to work on his range skills.
Balista dematerialized back into space storage. Weber blade materialized in his right hand. He pounced forward, low to the ground.
Four rifles aimed at him. Rapid fire filled the enclosed space. Bullets whizzed past his ears. These bullets were crude, making weird whistling noises as they shot through the air.
Dainv Combat Arts kicked in. In an enclosed space like this room, he could basically use anything as leverage.
He leapt. Feet caught the ceiling. Body twisted. Hand slashed down. Essence pathways lit up. Reflection activated. A single blade rippled into reality from Weber's edge. The wave sliced through air, cutting toward the nearest Tainted figure.
The reflection caught its right arm. Clean cut. The rifle clattered to the floor. Dark green fluid sprayed from the stump of where its arm used to be.
The Defiled figure signalled. 'KILL HIM.'
It floated backward as if it was falling like a feather, unnaturally smooth as the edges of its cloak also looked like they were underwater. A rifle from beneath its cloak raised. One muzzle flash.
The bullet trailed a visible shockwave similar to Clyde's shockwave rounds.
Gale brought Weber up. Flat of the blade caught the shot. The angle was back. Too perpendicular. The impact threw him across the room. His back slammed into the wall. Stone cracked behind him. Air escaped his lungs.
Two Tainted figures aimed at the position where he landed. Gale activated Phase Touch to his whole body.
Bullets passed through him, but he couldn't stay phased forever.
The weaker ones first.
Gale rolled. Kicked a nearby table. It toppled, creating cover and a distraction.
From behind it, he slashed Weber horizontally. Reflection activated once again.
Another wave rippled into reality. The first Tainted figure on the left ducked. The second wasn't fast enough.
Its head separated from its body. The corpse dropped. Green fluid pooled beneath the stump of its neck.
Breath of the Void tugged at his senses. Left flank. Shockwave bullet incoming.
Gale twisted. Weber came up to his flank. Tried his best to angle it this time. Failed. Still too flat.
The force sent him flying again. His body crashed through stone shelves.
Time to stop holding back.
Gale took a deep breath, and the Void answered his call. Tendrils went inwards. Billions of lines and patterns bloomed across his skin. Lines etched into his clothes. The pitch black room suddenly inverted as if daylight poured over the whole place. Everything became clear as day, literally.
The Tainted figure with the missing arm fumbled for a sidearm.
Too slow. Gale appeared behind it. Weber was already through its torso. The blade erupted from its chest, green fluid leaking down.
He pivoted, using the impaled body as a shield. The Defiled figure fired anyway.
Shockwave bullet tore through the corpse. Meat and bone exploded and disintegrated outward, painting the room's walls green.
Gale was already gone, jumping to the ceiling again. Weber slashed against the air. Reflection rippled toward the last Tainted figure. The wave cut through its neck and chest, splitting its body waist up into half.
Three down. One to go.
The Defiled figure backed toward the far wall. Its rifle tracked Gale's movements and fired again. The muzzle flash darkened the space.
Gale dodged sideways. The shot punched a hole through stone where his head had been a blink before.
"You're… not… human?" the figure managed to utter with a raspy metallic speaker like voice. It sounded wrong, as if it didn't come from human vocal cords. It was as if it was imitating a human.
Gale didn't answer. No point in talking to non-humans. A good corrupted entity is a dead corrupted entity.
He lunged forward. Feet pushed off the stone floor.
The Defiled figure raised its fist. The punch came faster than anything human should move.
Gale twisted at the last second. His spine curved unnaturally. He slashed downward toward the figure's feet.
But the Defiled anticipated this. It stepped back, floating rather than stepping. Its left hand already had a sidearm drawn.
The pistol barked twice.
The first bullet caught Gale in the stomach. The second whizzed past his ear. Fuck, that hit on his stomach was painful. The armour held, but the impact knocked the wind from his lungs.
The cloaked figure floated to the other side of the room. Whenever it moved, it moved like it was deep underwater. No footsteps nor sound. Just smoothly repositioning at a speed that was disorienting.
Its rifle came up again. The crosshair found Gale's centre mass.
Fire.
Gale didn't dodge this time. He met the bullet head-on. Weber's edge flashed upward. The blade caught the bullet perfectly, splitting it into two equal halves. Essence pathway was also already lit up. In that single arc, a reflection shot out from Weber's edge. The wave sliced through the air, cutting toward the cloaked figure's rifle.
The reflection caught the barrel. The rifle fell in two pieces.
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Gale pushed forward. He closed the distance in an eyeblink, face to face with the cloaked figure. Close enough to see beneath the hood.
An old man stared back. A human with a wrinkled face, sunken eyes as if he hadn't slept in years. But those very eyes glowed a tinge of green that told Gale this man could no longer come back to being human.
Weber came up for the killing stroke.
[Warning: Psionic Wave incoming.]
Gale barely processed Guide's warning when an invisible force slammed into him. His body flew backward across the room. Back hit stone wall. Cracks spider-webbed outward from the impact. Electricity crackled on the metal of his Weber.
The Defiled figure telekinetically grabbed one of the dropped rifles and fired. Shockwave bullet flew towards Gale's chest.
Too fast to dodge.
The round hit centre mass. His armour shattered on impact. The force crushed inward.
Blood sprayed from Gale's mouth. Ribs audibly cracked. Blood dripped down his chin.
Enough. No more distractions.
Gale slapped the floor below him, pushing himself upright into the ceiling and then back to the floor on his side. He banked left, vaulting off the wall.
His feet didn't touch the surface for more than a fraction of a second before he pushed off again.
He jumped up to the ceiling, running upside down. Essence pathways lit up. Weber slashed forward. Reflection activated. A wave shot towards the cloaked figure.
Electricity crackled in front of it. Psionic storm tried to block the reflection. The wave sliced through the energy and sliced off the figure's fingers.
Gale dropped to the floor. Rolled. Came up in a low crouch.
He pounced, Weber leading the way. The blade aimed for the figure's legs.
Alloy met flesh, cutting clean through both limbs just above the knees.
The Defiled figure toppled forward. But even as it fell, its hands came together into a fist. Another psionic blast erupted outward.
Force crashed down on Gale. Smashed him into the floor. Stone cracked beneath him. His skull bounced off the hard surface.
Gale gritted his teeth as he pushed himself up. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth. This shit took much more effort than expected. If one of these Resonant equivalents was already this annoying, he was lucky he hadn't taken on the western group first.
The cloaked figure couldn't escape now. Its severed legs lay several feet away. Dark green fluid pooled beneath the stumps. Still, it tried to drag itself away, hands clawing at the stone floor.
Gale held up Weber. Alter activated. The blade stretched and elongated to the length of a spear in the blink of an eye.
Gale took one step forward. Raised the spear.
Thrust.
Weber's point punched through the figure's back, through its heart and chest. The blade pierced out the front, dripping with that same dark green fluid.
The cloaked figure shuddered once, then went still.
Gale withdrew the blade. Flicked it clean. Weber dematerialized back into space storage.
[Tainted Remnant Stalker felled.]
[Tainted Remnant Stalker felled.]
[Tainted Remnant Stalker felled.]
[Defiled Remnant Stalker felled.]
[Description: Disloyal remnants of the failed creations of the Proctor. They were only spared as they were still useful as biomass.]
[Extracting Origin from Preys…]
[Origin Grains: 36]
[Reward: 40 points]
Gale's breath came in short bursts as the Defiled figure's blood pooled at his feet. Four bodies littered the room. He wiped off his own blood dripping from his chin. Weber vanished from his grip, dematerializing back into space storage.
His fingers felt for his ribs. Pain shot out from where he'd been shot. The armour that he was given only did so much. Now, it was gone. No more second chances, I guess. He spat blood onto the stone floor. Not ideal for what was coming next.
Breath of the Void's tendrils suddenly tugged at his senses. Four Tainted figures were on the move. They headed straight for the northern right temple where he was. He had maybe minutes before they arrived.
Gale immediately pulled up Vianne's Express Amazing Store. He scrolled through the display and found the Vit Vials.
He put two of them in the cart, 100 each, and purchased. No point in conserving a few couple of hundred points.
Two small glass vials containing red glittering liquid inside materialized in his palm. He popped the glass lid on the first one and downed it in a single gulp. These things always had a random taste to them. Probably one of Vianne's antics. This one tasted like apple juice.
His body temperature spiked. Heat spread through his limbs. The broken ribs shifted, knitting back together. He could feel the internal bleeding stop, the muscle tissues writhing below his skin repairing themselves.
He drank the second vial without hesitation. This one tasted like his favourite grape juice. The bruise on his stomach and chest faded. His breathing steadied.
Gale was ready for round two.
The tendrils of his Breath of the Void stretched further. The four Tainted figures approached the base of the temple slowly as their heads bobbed and examined their surroundings carefully.
Gale activated Distort. Light bent around him. He became night invisible. He moved to the top of the temple where the entrance sat. He climbed onto the short wall above the doorway, pressing his back against the stone. Now all he had to do was wait, just like the dark hunter he was.
The four figures reached the top of the pyramid. They moved smoothly, flowing like they were underwater. Their cloaks rippled slowly as they moved. Gale really didn't like the underwater part. All it did was make it look creepier for no reason.
Two stopped at the entrance. The other two entered cautiously, rifles raised.
Perfect. They were tunnel visioned into whatever was inside.
Gale waited until the door closed behind the two that entered.
Time to strike.
He vaulted over the wall, Weber materializing in his hand mid-leap. His essence pathways lit up. Reflection activated.
The blade sliced through air. The wave rippled into reality, cleaving toward the two figures below.
They never saw it coming. The reflection cut through both simultaneously. Their bodies split cleanly in half, torso from legs. Green fluid sprayed across the stone like a fountain.
[Tainted Remnant Stalker felled.]
[Tainted Remnant Stalker felled.]
Gale didn't pause. He rushed through the door, Weber leading. The two inside had their backs to him, looking over the bodies of the other fallen stalkers.
He tackled the first one from behind. Weber's point pierced straight through its back and out through the chest. The figure went rigid, then limp.
The second spun, rifle already aimed. It fired.
Gale tilted his head. The bullet missed his skull by inches. The sound exploded in his ear. A high-pitched ring replaced all other sound.
The rifle came up for a second shot.
With Weber still embedded in the corpse beneath him, Gale sliced upward. Reflection cast out again. The reflection cut through the remaining Tainted figure. It fell in two perfect halves, split from groin to skull.
[Tainted Remnant Stalker felled.]
[Tainted Remnant Stalker felled.]
Gale yanked Weber free. Green fluid dripped from the blade. He flicked it clean and stood up, dematerializing Weber back into storage.
Eight down. Two left.
Tendrils explored the western temple to see where the two stalkers were left. They hadn't moved an inch from their seats. Looks like they weren't planning to move. The description did say that they were disloyal to the proctor. Maybe that was why they were left behind in this place. They could have just not followed orders. Unfortunately for them, in the darkest of the nights, the dark hunter doesn't take in any prisoners. The dark hunter is a merciless force of nature that will cleave through all enemies brutally and as efficiently as possible.
At least, that's what Gale wanted to do. The last Defiled stalker he fought was already bad enough. Was it really worth it to kill the remaining two?
When in doubt, ask the know-it-all blue lady woman.
Gale pulled out his phone and pushed the PTT button. "Erin, there are two stalkers left in the western temple. But they're not moving or looking for me. Should I even bother with them?"
The phone crackled before Erin's voice cut through the silence. "You are asking if mercy is warranted for creatures that wear flesh not their own? They are parasites, feeding upon the cosmos itself. To spare them is to betray thy duty as a Dainv."
"But they're not attacking," Gale said. "They haven't even left their spots."
"Each breath they take is a desecration," Erin said. "Each moment they exist, corruption spreads like a disease through the fabric of reality. Your hesitation does not speak of wisdom, but weakness."
Gale leaned against the stone wall. "I've already killed eight of them. The mission is to get the fragment. I can just avoid these last two."
"There is no partial victory against corruption," Erin said. "You ask permission to abandon your duty? I give none. Eliminate all corrupted entities. No exceptions shall be made, or consequences will follow that would make you regret such mercy."
Gale stared at his phone. Well, that was kind of an obvious answer given. In fact, that's exactly what he did with the skin walker in the asylum. It looked pitiful and cried out for its mom. Next thing he knew, after trying to destroy the dark rift orb, it wanted to dig its teeth into his face. He let it go despite Guide telling him to just kill it.
"Guide," Gale whispered. "What should I do?"
[Host is recommended to follow Erin Weber's advice. Eliminate all corruption with no exceptions.]
Gale tucked his phone back into his pocket. He flexed his fingers. He quickly purchased another Vit Vial and downed it in one gulp. Cherry this time. Erin and Guide were right anyways. Who knows when those bastards will shoot him in the back? They don't even follow their own commander's orders.
Besides, the dark hunter shows no mercy. Only the weak can afford to show mercy. That's probably how the saying goes.
He rolled his shoulders, feeling the last tingles of the Vit Vial fade away. The two stalkers wouldn't even see him coming.