Apocalypse Baby

Authors Note: Big shoutout to IcyShadow2323 for making this chapter possible! Thanks for the pizza, you're the MVP at the moment!

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Luther groaned as he regained consciousness, the dull, pounding ache in his head making him wince.

Slowly, he raised a trembling hand to his temple, the sticky warmth beneath his fingers telling him all he needed to know.

He brought his hand in front of his face and stared at the dark red smear of blood.

His vision was still blurry, his mind clouded with confusion.

What happened?

For a moment, everything was a hazy blank, the details just out of reach.

But then his eyes fell on Edgar's decapitated body sprawled nearby.

The sight hit him like a jolt of electricity, and the memories came rushing back.

His jaw clenched tightly, his teeth grinding as fury replaced the fog in his mind.

He balled his hands into fists, trembling with rage.

"That bastard," he growled under his breath, his voice filled with venom.

The image replayed in his mind.

He had been caught off-guard, his head slammed to the ground. The stranger had moved with such overwhelming speed it felt unreal.

"How is that even possible?"

Luther muttered to himself, his mind racing to make sense of it.

And then it clicked. Or at least, he thought it did.

"That's right," he said, his voice gaining strength as he pieced it together. "The bastard must've put all his points in agility."

It was the only explanation that made sense to him.

No ordinary player could or should be able to move that fast.

Fueled by his growing anger, Luther staggered to his feet, his legs wobbling for a moment before finding their strength.

His eyes darted around the forest, scanning for any sign of the enemy.

Spotting his spear half-buried in the dirt nearby, he reached down and gripped it tightly.

His eyes narrowed as he scanned the forest, his breathing steadying as his rage hardened into determination.

Whoever that bastard was, he was going to pay.

Luther scanned the area, his eyes darting through the dense forest, but there was no sign of the stranger, or any member of his group.

Where were they?

His mind raced with questions.

Were they still chasing that monster?

Had they regrouped, or had something gone horribly wrong?

Then he saw it.

A gruesome, stomach-turning scene lay just ahead. Jagger's body—or what was left of it—was crumpled on the blood-soaked ground.

Luther's breath hitched as he realized Jagger's entire upper torso, from the waist up, was gone.

Flesh and gore were splattered across the surrounding greenery, staining it crimson.

The air reeked of iron and death.

He staggered back, his hand instinctively covering his face as his stomach churned.

His shock quickly gave way to seething rage.

His fingers dug into his skin as his expression twisted into a snarl.

"That bastard," he hissed under his breath.

His voice trembled, not with fear but with fury. "I'll kill him."

Suddenly, a distant explosion echoed through the forest, snapping him out of his thoughts.

The sound jolted him into action.

It had to be him.

Soren and Kiev were probably still fighting that monster.

Without hesitation, Luther gripped his spear tightly and sprinted toward the noise, his heart pounding in his chest.

He wasn't going to let that thing get away with this.

But as he raced through the forest, his momentum faltered when his eyes caught another horrifying sight.

A body lay sprawled in the underbrush ahead.

It was Soren.

Luther slowed to a stop, his chest heaving as he approached.

Blood seeped from Soren's eyes, nose, and mouth, pooling around his lifeless form. His face was frozen in a twisted expression of terror and agony.

Luther's grip on his spear tightened.

He stared down at his fallen comrade, his breathing ragged.

For the first time, a flicker of doubt crept into his mind.

His feet refused to move forward as he stood there, staring at Soren's lifeless body.

Despite his seething anger, Luther couldn't ignore the nagging thought in the back of his mind: the way his group had died was far from normal.

He frowned, gripping his spear tighter as he moved cautiously through the forest. Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire

"What the hell happened here?" he muttered under his breath.

The gruesome carnage didn't feel like the work of a person.

No, this was something else entirely.

A monster, perhaps? Could one have been drawn by the noise and caught his team off guard?

He shook his head, trying to clear the thought.

He couldn't imagine a human being capable of such brutal, horrific slaughter.

Then, faint cackling broke through the uneasy silence, carried by the wind.

Luther's steps slowed. His heart pounded as he moved toward the sound, the laughter growing louder with each step.

He brushed aside the dense foliage and stopped dead in his tracks.

The sight before him froze him in place.

Kiev, his second-in-command, was writhing on the ground, screaming in sheer agony.

His leg was gone, a bloody stump where it had once been.

His entire body was a bloodied, mangled mess, riddled with arrows that pinned him to the earth like some cruel dartboard.

Standing over him was the stranger, Kiev's quiver in hand.

The stranger pulled out an arrow, twirled it lazily between his fingers, and then threw it with precision, embedding it into Kiev's already broken body.

"Bullseye," the stranger muttered with a cold grin.

Kiev let out another agonized scream, his voice echoing through the forest.

Luther's entire body shook with rage.

His grip on his spear tightened until his knuckles turned white.

The stranger turned slightly, as if sensing the new presence, but didn't seem concerned.

Luther could feel his blood boiling.

His weapon pulsed with energy, responding to his fury.

"I'll kill you!" he roared.

The spear surged with light, energy gathering at its tip.

Luther aimed at the stranger, unleashing a devastating beam of raw power.

The brilliant blast tore through the forest, heading straight for the monster who had decimated his group.

But to Luther's disbelief, the stranger barely reacted.

With casual grace, he stepped to the side, effortlessly dodging the attack. The beam hurtled past him, exploding against the trees in the distance with a deafening crash.

The blast sent a gust of wind ripping through the forest, causing the stranger's long coat to flare dramatically.

Alex turned towards Luther, his smile sharp and unsettling, a predator's grin.

"Oh, you're awake," Alex said, his tone almost cheerful.

He gestured lazily to the broken, bloodied Kiev on the ground.

"Good timing. I was already getting bored with this weakling. But lucky me—you've come to make things interesting."

Luther's grip on his spear tightened, his knuckles turning white.

"Damn you! You've lost your mind. No sane person would do something like this."

Alex tilted his head, his expression shifting into something far more sinister. His eyes gleamed with an unholy light as he chuckled softly.

"That's right. I'm crazy. I used to wonder how someone like you could kill your own kind so easily."

His grin widened, his voice dropping into a chilling whisper.

"But once I tried it, I realized... it's not hard at all. In fact, it's exhilarating, because you are all pieces of shit."

A cold dread washed over Luther as the air around him seemed to grow heavier, almost suffocating.

It wasn't just Alex's words—it was the overwhelming presence radiating from him.

Luther froze, his heart pounding as beads of sweat formed on his brow.

This isn't human, he thought, his mind racing. This can't be human.

Meanwhile Kiev on the ground, groaned weakly, every movement sending waves of agony through his body.

He barely had the strength to open his eyes, but when he did, his blurred vision locked onto Luther.

Luther stood a short distance away, his chest heaving with rage.

His entire body trembled, his grip on his glowing spear so tight it seemed like he might crush it.

Kiev's heart sank.

He could see it—the storm of fury building within Luther.

But he knew the truth, a truth Luther couldn't comprehend yet.

This wasn't a fight Luther could win.

He forced his bloodied lips to move, each word a struggle.

"Luther... ru... ru—"

But Kiev's words were cut off abruptly as an arrow pierced his throat, silencing him.

His eyes widened in shock as he gagged, choking on his own blood.

Crimson spilled from his mouth, pooling beneath him.

His body convulsed one last time before going still.

Luther watched in stunned horror as Kiev died right in front of him.

Something inside him snapped, shattering the last remnants of control.

His vision blurred with rage as a guttural roar tore from his throat.

"You bastard!" he screamed, his voice filled with raw fury.

"What are you?!"

Luther charged, his spear blazing with energy, each step pounding into the ground like thunder as he closed the gap between them.

But Alex didn't move.

He stood there, calm and composed, watching Luther barrel toward him.

His lips curled into a sinister grin, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

As Luther drew closer, Alex tilted his head slightly, his voice low and cold as he answered Luther's question.

"What am I?" he repeated, his grin widening.

"I'm an anomaly."