In the open battlefield of the mountain shrine. Kade was off at a safe distance from the bloody parade of the performing devil, yet not safe from the countless abominations that deviated from the pack.
Kade could count about 20 in total, with 17 hounds and three humanoids making it up; he had a great view of the assault since they started to swarm together, like a tidal wave forming on a stormy beach, clawing at and atop each other.
He was ready at moments; his instincts urged him to flee, yet he stayed. Outrunning the humanoids was possible, but police used dogs for a reason, so that was not possible. Fighting against the horde was impossible as well; Kade, despite being an incredibly competent combatant, still struggled somewhat against groups, so a 1v17 situation was idiotic to consider.
Especially when each individual was a nightmare creature rather than the average street thug. So what could he do? Dying sounded like the most probable outcome, yet he didn't want to see his father in hell yet. The decrepit old man would be unpleasant to visit after Kade sent him there all those years ago.
Taking a deep, solidifying breath, Kade got into position, ready for the incoming horde. What he could do was perhaps not outrun them but stay alive against the horde, blocking and weaving rather than aiming for damage.
The odds were incredibly slim, but at least there was a chance.
"It will be a gamble." Kade didn't have the best history with gambling, but there was nothing he could do. Just like how he grew up on the outskirts; if he had to fight his way out of it, then great.
It was the one thing he knew best.
He dove into the incoming wave of abominations, wearing a propped-up smile that didn't share an ounce of his terror at all. Adrenaline coursed through him, allowing him to power through his fatigued muscles. Along with the supernatural boost of one of his attributes, that seemed to power him even more now.
With the tools at his disposal, Kade was a force to be reckoned with. But not strong enough to come out unscathed.
In an instant of pure chaos, he passed through the piranha-like pack of abominations; 5 hounds went to maul him, and the humanoid in the back reached its pitchfork-like arms to spear him. Like an unthinking machine, Kade struck two of the hounds away, received shallow scratches from two, and a passing bite from one. The final swing of the humanoid flew inches above his head.
In the instant he broke through the wave that spread more wide than long, the beasts, having missed their meal, circled back to chase. Kade's skin now littered with shallow cuts from the scuffle, with one barely missing his eye.
"That went better than expected!"
It was a miracle he lived, a soon-ending miracle as the hounds were fresh on his tail. Taking into a sprint, the blood on his calf oozed his trail down to the spire, the humanoids taking their time to not completely hurl themselves off course from their momentum, lagging behind the starved dogs.
In the moment of sweet reprieve before the dogs caught up, Kade quickly put together that another one of his attributes most likely increased his endurance and durability; no mundane human would take shallower cuts from dormant beasts in a passing.
Although such endurance didn't mean too much if he got struck unguarded by a humanoid, hopefully, he wouldn't have to check that expectation. As going in for another dive into the swarm was not the best idea, he got lucky that time, but it would wear him down quickly, along with the potential of taking a fatal attack being high.
As the growls and roars of the dogs honed in ever closer, Kade dove for a fallen polearm, rolling forward and twisting back. He readied his blade for the leaping hound. 'If I kill enough wolves, I can run to the shrine; hopefully that's the goal of the nightmare...'
If that plan didn't work out, he was screwed entirely. There's not much to it. Who knew whether the shrine was safe or held even more dangerous things like the devil?
If he couldn't run away without harm or kill them all. Hell, take a mix of both.
The polearm shot forward, piercing the first dog in the throat and exiting the neck. The beast fell dead by the wayside, making way for the line of rabid beasts rampaging him.
[You have slain a…]
His second stab impaled the follower's heart, the beast crying out in agony as Kade pulled his weapon free from its chest, disregarding it for the next.
[You have slain a…]
This time he only managed to stab the third wolf's shoulder, stopping it in place before striking its snout with a front kick; the injured beast was very much still alive, only reeling back from the pain before joining the next one in the combined attack.
[You have slain a…]
Now dealing with two, Kade stabbed the healthy one through the eye, keeping the shaft to block the other canine's revenge. Yet the creature bit clean through, bypassing the broken spear and tearing into Kade's light armour with its hind claws.
[You have slain a…]
Kade let go of the shattered shaft, swung a desperate punch into the wolf's jaw, and brought it down. He smashed its skull again and again, frantic to end it before the next one reached him.
Without the polearm, he was too slow, and now it was only a matter of time before he was swarmed and eaten alive.
Before the spell could whisper the death of the injured dog, its following brother jumped on Kade, its weight holding him down as it bit down on his shoulder, just managing to get through his light pauldron.
Kade roared in frustration as he swapped targets to the new combatant.
"GET OFF!"
Shoving the wolf aside, he let the adrenaline help burst him from the ground, bloodied and battered, and gritting his teeth, he charged forward at the two new arrivals. His once-formed and stylised street fighting now corroding into pure fight and flight.
One strike to the nose for the left, a grab and slam with the right, before brutally stomping down on the one he had just shoved down. At this instant the rest of the hounds arrived, slobbering with hunger as they started to circle him.
Breathing desperately for air, Kade attempted to fight off the surrounding attackers, but with every hit he managed to land, there were three more being dealt to him, with the dogs latching on and pulling him to the ground; once he was there, he would be mauled to death in a matter of seconds.
Gasping for air, Kade swung wildly, but for every blow he landed, three more slammed into him. The dogs were everywhere—snapping, clawing, dragging him down by the limbs. If they pinned him fully, it was over. They'd tear him apart in seconds.
In the distance, the humanoids had caught up. The leader's high-pitched scream warped the air as its gaunt, spidery limbs pounded across the blood-slick stone. Kade saw death coming—and threw everything he had into breaking through the pack.
But just before he could escape its domain, a hound leapt past its kin and sank its fangs into his already shredded calf, gnawing deeper, anchoring him in place. Pain flared in his leg as he staggered forward anyway. Desperation and disbelief crashed over him.
"Not again," he gasped, breathless.
This time, there was no escape. The humanoid barrelled through the pack, shattering its formation, its arm a whip of raw, metallic flesh streaking toward his back.
Kade turned, just in time to see death bearing down on him. Time slowed. The limb drew closer—closer—until it struck. His eyes widened. Then, in a flash, everything blurred. The sheer force spread into his body like a sledgehammer. The transfer of energy shattered his body, while the access catapulted his body into the air.
Like a puppet without strings, Kade was cartoonishly sent hurtling nearly a hundred feet across the mountain plateau. His mind went blank from the shock, and the pain he should have felt was strangely muted—his spine too broken to transmit the full horror of his injuries.
His consciousness began to drift, the first thought surfacing like a whisper through the fog:
How did I end up like this?
Before the thought could settle, his shattered body slammed against the unyielding stone. He tumbled across the rough ground, limbs loose, blood streaking behind him as he rolled—again, and again, and again—until finally, he came to a stop.
After the chaos, only the wind spoke; its breeze carried against Kade's face. It was the only part of his body he could feel, and after trying to lift his arm to wipe the blood seeping over his eyes. It was also the only part of his body he could move.
The sudden snatch of senses helped calm his overstimulated brain, with it finally coming to terms with the occurrence. But not in accepting death.
The dented and mutilated monk beads by his neck shone.
Memory: [Oblique Beads]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: I.
Enchantment Description: [The hopes of the user can be instilled and rejuvenate the wearer upon us, with the enchantment recharging between each prayer.]
Kade's body shifted to an unnaturally bright green hue, his twisted arms and legs unfurled back into the proper shape, his shattered bone fragments came back to form the original bones, his cuts and gashes filled with their respective flesh, and his discoloured bruises shifted back to normal.
[Prayer recharged: 31 days]
Standing atop the stone, he marvelled at the miraculous recovery, stretching, twisting, and quickly testing his body's range of motion.
'...'
The shock hadn't entirely faded. The flood of emotion that had crashed over him still pooled in the corners of his mood. But now, something else surged through him—ecstasy. A wash of euphoria drowned out the weight of fear and pain.
In the distance, the abominations resumed their charge.
Kade broke into a sprint, his bare feet streaking across the shattered plateau. A smirk curled across his face… then widened… then split into a grin.
And he laughed.
"Heh... Heh—HE HA HAHAHAHA!!"
After the jubilant laughter fades, the high of survival still crackling in his veins, Kade's eyes flicked toward the hounds, now recovering from their earlier momentum.
His grin widened as he turned on his heel, sprinting backward to see the beasts who were ripping apart a minute ago, now falling behind his speed.
All of them were slowed by the injuries and wounds they had received from either Kade or the zealots.
Yet Kade, now rejuvenated anew, didn't even break his stride.
He threw his arm back with a casual flick, an exaggerated middle finger rising toward the snarling beasts.
"Later, suckers!" he yelled, the words carrying a mocking cheer, even as the sound of the hound's furious growls raked across the plateau.
He didn't wait for their response. Instead, he picked up speed, his bare feet pounding against the stone like a war drum, echoing off the mountainside.
His heart raced, not from fear, but from that dangerous euphoria that gripped him. He could already feel the shrine ahead, its aura like a beacon in his mind. Every step, every burst of speed, only made it feel more within reach.
Ignoring the continuing massacre of the stone devil in the distance, he grinned wider as his laughter followed him like a song of victory.