Chương 29: The Monster & It's Wayward Sword

As the two awkward members of what looked like the power couple of the century walked out of the mall's airlock doors. Lilia seemed to have noticed something off.

'Did I get lint in my hair?'

'Oh' The lights that surrounded the outside parking lot were all off, plunging the area into what could be called true darkness. June felt it in his bones; he felt several stares appearing in the darkness. ravenous stares, specifically the ones that carried something June had become familiar with.

'Killing intent' June was fine in the dark; he had night vision, but he closed his eyes anyway.

'My eyes glow.' He folded the sunglasses and hooked them on his collar. He threw his favorite jacket on the ground, followed by his favorite sweater, then favorite shirt.

'I don't need to worry about making a fool of myself in front of her.' June still couldn't tell; he felt attracted to Lillia to say the least, but he wasn't sure how. He had always assumed that love was a sort of twisted reflection of lust, but he didn't feel lust when he saw Lilia. June slouched on his back, his spine protruding from his back in the utter darkness. He grabbed it with a firm hand and tore it from its socket for a new one to take its place.

He liked his spine, he liked Lilia more, and he didn't like how they were looking at her.

'Killing intent, killing intent, killing intent.' He hummed those words in the darkness; his pursuers, or Lilia's, it did not matter; he learned his lesson.

"If you want to kill me, you'll need to prepare yourself." He sang those words, for the song was just beginning. He flexed his spine; he dragged his hand down where his hand gripped it to the tip of the blade, shaving excess off until it could cut the world. Julian didn't teach him much swordsmanship, but he saw enough to imitate it. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

'Improv is what I do best.' Before Lilia or the pursuers could react, a thin messy line slashed against the pursuers and the vans they sat in before sliding and collapsing in two. It was hard to tell if the mess of blood, flesh, and steel was crushed or cut.

"You're lucky we have an audience."

'Lilia is most likely blind here, so I have to take care of the chores today.' There were no cars around them, no people either, the distant areas where light shined was blurry and distorted.

'Odd' He continued tearing them apart within the seconds he had left to spare. A few shoots rang out, nothing compared to the beasts breath A few hit June, but damaging him was another thing; they pierced his body but never left. Occasionally he would toss one of the bullets that was inside him with enough force to pierce the vans and the body armor of these mercenaries.

They were mundane, but they were receiving help from someone with powers'Maybe a Dreamer' He glanced towards Lilia; she had created an ice cocoon around her, and the place where she thought June was'Cute' She tried to protect him But June was no stranger to violence, not anymore. His trek had its bumps; he had to learn to kill weaker pests on his own. Sometimes those pests came in the form of highway men, others in indistinguishable hordes of flesh.

June slashed through most of the mercenaries before he's sword met some resistance. It was someone of similar stature as him, with their own sword.

'A worthy opponent' June opened his eyes, and the yellow blips with their blood-red inlay stared at this pitiful creature. He saw his opponent, and he threw his spine sword, piercing his opponent's head into the concrete behind them.

'I'm not a swordsman.'

"Try harder." He spoke to the ones yet to act as if he knew where they were. The body of his opponent was stuck in the position of falling backwards, almost as if time stopped for them if you were to ignore their slack arms.

'Admirable' The swordsman still held the alloy blade tightly, but not tight enough. June tore the blade from the swordsman and balanced it It was better than his spine but a little light for his tastes. June closed his eyes again.

'Disappointing' June had never been a singer, but at the same time singing was one of the reasons he made it through the trek. The APC had an odd device, almost like a gramophone mixed with a communicator; it looked as fantastical as it was stupid, but the device itself was priceless to June. It only had one song; it was part of the boss's possessions. He used to sing along to it during the day and during the night when he would tend to his garden.

June found it bothersome at first; he then found it endearing, then it was a crushing reminder of what he failed to do, and finally it became a reason to continue on, to find solace in what happened, and to finally kill the beast. The red pupils glowed a violent red, almost outshining the golden hue of the iris itself. The song that it played was from an opera; he wasn't sure what it was called exactly. He no longer had the device, but he knew every word, every syllable, and every pause to the exact T.

And so he sang; his voice echoed through the night. The song he sang was the song of death with its themes of rebirth. But most failed to make it past the death part. His voice was already harrowing, almost harmonic even. It sounded like the gates of hell had opened just to duet with the madman. But despite the harrowing song, that was equal parts beautiful The carnage being spilt was a cruel reminder of reality. The alloy sword broke eventually. All good things must come to an end.

But even without a sword, the bones that protruded from June's knuckles, like they were made of brass, still crushed skulls and were enough to cause bones to turn to dust.

'It's a shame things had to get ugly.' And it's a deeper shame that June enjoyed every second of it. The death continued, and so did his song. His song of death and rebirth