Chương 105: Harbinger of Demise

A day after returning from his fated event, Joe stood over Hakeem's completed map, whistling low.

"Damn, this thing is detailed. You can practically see every tree, every mound of dirt, every hill. Can you make me one of these?"

"Do you know how long this took? And you want me to make another one?" Hakeem groaned.

"Don't you need to level your profession? What are you complaining about? I'll pay you five million credits," Joe said, eyes still tracing the lines of the map.

"Jesus, how rich are you?" Hakeem gasped, though his hand twitched in interest.

"Fine. Deal. I need new gear anyway." Joe laughed, and they high-fived as he sent his friend five million credits. The rest of Joe's stay in Heliopolis passed without further incident. Sarah eventually roped him into a so-called small meet and greet, her definition of small turned into six hours of shaking hands, listening to thanks, and smiling until his face hurt. Joe didn't complain. Being a city protector came with responsibilities, and this one was lighter than most.

Still, he silently vowed never to ask Sarah what she considered 'large.' Sarah had also spent nearly an hour apologizing for not leaving sooner during that incident with Corel. Joe had assumed she'd left when it started, but apparently she hadn't. He was unbothered, truth be told. And Corel openly mentioned that she could have stayed and watched, to which Joe just shook his head in dismay. Voldura.

Once the meet and greet was finished, Joe and Corel said their goodbyes and returned to Landradad to check on the brats and their training. Before heading out, Joe pulled up his pillar and scanned the upcoming competitions. Two new events were open for sign-up, both starting in ten days: a battle royale and something called a 'Monster Mash.' Curious, he tapped the description.

Integration Monster Mash - This integration competition is a special team-based competition, where all competitors will team up to fight a singular, high-grade beast of unknown origin. During this competition, friendly fire will be disabled, and protections will be in place to ensure no competitor can hurt or kill a fellow competitor, while you work together to take down the unknown beast. The prize pool of two million integration points will be shared among all surviving competitors.

Collision Protocol (BR) - This Battle Royale will award the sole winner five million integration points. Only one shall survive. A joint competition to fight one singular Beast, and a standard battle royale with one victor.

"Which of these are the Voldura entering?" Joe asked.

"The battle Royale is supposed to be ours, but… we are only sending ten Vor clan prisoners this time," Corel said. Joe's eyes widened at that.

"Why?"

"Because of the list of entrants. The number one rank has entered. Kilch'Kitz Novo'Fara. We were advised by the Grosii not to enter a BR competition with him," Corel replied. Joe quickly pulled up the list, and there he was… right at the top. Kilch'Kitz. Joe smiled faintly, raising a finger toward the pillar screen.

"Joseph! Don't!" Corel shouted, but it was too late. His name locked in with a chime. __"Why did you do that?" Corel asked, horror and anger mixed in her voice. She wanted to slap him, to drag him into the dirt until he admitted his foolishness. But he wasn't Voldura, so she held herself back.

"I just want to see how strong he is. I'll be fine," Joe said, brushing off her protests. Her nails bit into her palms. Just when she thought they had reached an unspoken understanding, he went and did something reckless again. She turned on her heel and stormed out, needing air. The flower gardens near the lake welcomed her with their soft fragrance. Slowly, her fury ebbed.

'Idiot,' she pulsed. Only half meaning it.

'Sorry,' came his reply. Her anger melted further. He was strong, stronger than even she could imagine, but she still wished he weren't so impulsive.

'You better win,' she sent.

'I will.' She almost laughed. He said it with such confidence. And perhaps she was the fool, because part of her believed him. She wandered deeper into the garden until a familiar voice called her name. Alice approached, wild cats padding at her heels, with Meris and Shanna walking beside her. As soon as Meris spotted Corel, she darted forward and wrapped her in a fierce hug.

"Seeker, I missed you," Meris began, but Corel flicked her horn, making Meris bow her head with a blush.

"Stop acting like a child. I accept it when he is around, but when we are alone, you will act like an adult. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Seeker," Meris replied quickly.

"Good." Corel turned to Alice with a smile.

"Alice, how has the training been? Have they worked hard?"

"They're diligent, I've no complaints," Alice said. Her gaze swept around, searching.

"Are you and Joe back now?"

"We are. He's inside." Corel caught the faint wince that crossed Alice's face, as though she sensed her sour mood. Corel breathed deeply, tempering her emotions. She had been losing control too often of late. She considered taking a pill to steady herself, but no. Joe was right about that. She couldn't keep numbing her feelings with drugs. Sooner or later, she would have to face them head-on. She just wasn't ready. Not yet. Not until she was sure she wouldn't lose him as she had lost everyone else.

She returned her focus to the girls, smiling warmly.

"Come, shall we play some music?" They followed her to the training grounds. Corel settled at the edge, pulling out her Guzheng. As she tuned the strings with soft plucks, she had Shanna and Meris running their footwork drills. Predictably, they complained, but she ignored it. They were young. One day, they would thank her. She activated her playing skill, a musical score scrolling into her vision, and closed her eyes. The strings sang beneath her fingers as she let the melody wash over her.

For an hour, she played, losing herself in sound, until her thoughts drifted back to Rose and their conversation. A smile tugged at her lips. She missed her and longed for the day she could visit Eludia. She didn't worry about how that would come to be; Joe would find a way. He always did. She even laughed lightly at the thought. Despite everything, she was happy. Perhaps more than she dared admit. But she reminded herself not to get too comfortable; there was always more strife ahead.

Her bond tattoo grew warm as Joe approached. She opened her eyes and narrowed them at him. A sigh slipped from her lips. Why was he so damn handsome? It took all her focus not to let her eyes linger. Oh, Corel… What are you going to do about this? She closed her eyes again and let the music carry her away. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. __ The next ten days passed in a blur.

Joe had been training relentlessly these past months, climbing to level 149 in both classes and 158 in his profession. He felt unstoppable, ready to challenge the number one on the integration leaderboard. On the balls of his feet, he shadowboxed as the countdown to the collision protocol ticked away. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and then the world warped, and he was teleported away. He was ready. He was not ready. He blinked as the world settled around him.

A jagged mountain peak stretched beneath his feet, overlooking a sprawling valley. This wasn't the battlefield he'd imagined. Had something gone wrong with the teleportation? Why was he standing here alone? He tried to pull up his status screen, only for a loud beep to cut him off. A message flashed across his vision: Status screen currently locked. Storm clouds churned overhead, swollen with lightning and heavy rain. A sudden downpour hammered him, warm droplets soaking through in seconds.

He turned slowly, scanning the barren peak for answers, unease rising in his chest. He didn't have to wait long. Greetings, Harbinger of Demise. Welcome to the hunt. Are you prepared? Joe's eyes narrowed. Fuck. Good. Prepare for the hunt. With a flash of light, two massive curved knives materialized before him, blades buried deep in the rock, hilts wrapped in worn leather that flapped in the storm. Take your weapons, Harbinger. The hunt begins now.

Joe stepped forward, water streaming down his face, and wrapped his hands around the blades. He wrenched them free, holding the awkward weapons aloft. They felt wrong in his grip, heavy, unbalanced, nothing like Jingu Bang. He gave them a few experimental swings, and every motion grated against his instincts. He tried to drop one, but it clung to his hand as if fused to his skin. He shook his arm hard, but it wouldn't release. The blade was no longer just in his hand; it was part of him.

"Fuck, really?" Joe roared into the storm. The wind ripped his words away, leaving him with only the pounding rain for company. Another message flared before his eyes, and his stomach dropped as rage boiled up inside him. Welcome, competitors, to the monster mash. Today, you will all be hunting the beast known as the Harbinger of Demise. This twin-fanged beast is overcome with bloodlust, which must be sated.

The area around the mountain has been sealed off, and as time goes on, it will gradually shrink, forcing all into conflict with the Harbinger. There is only one goal. Survive or die. Let the hunt begin. Joe's hands tightened on the blades. His expression darkened, the fury in his chest hardening to cold steel. He hated killing even when it had meaning; this was nothing but senseless slaughter, and the system had cast him as the centrepiece. The Beast to be hunted. He cut off every trace of hesitation.

With a primal roar, Joe hurled himself from the summit. His barding exploded across his body mid-fall, twisting into jagged wooden armour, a nightmarish shell that would have looked at home in a horror film. If the system wanted a monster, he would give it one. Rain sheeted off him as he plummeted. His barding coalesced and shimmered into a massive form with jagged horns piercing the air around him, like some kind of humanoid stag beetle.

Below, the first cluster of competitors scrambled for position, unaware of the storm descending upon them.

"Goodbye," Joe whispered. He hit the earth like a meteor. The impact shook the mountain, a mile of stone and soil convulsing under the force. And then, drenched in rain, blades in hand, the slaughter began. __ Tinto Likoro regretted every decision that had dragged him to this nightmare mountain. Rain soaked him to the bone, his one good eye barely able to see, blood trailing behind him with every staggering step. He had expected the beast they were sent to hunt to be strong, but this was a farce.

This wasn't a hunt. They weren't the hunters. They were prey, and the beast was slaughtering them one after another.

"Aaahhh!" he screamed, but the downpour swallowed his voice. He knew he was finished. Death was waiting, whether by blade or by storm. He spotted a hollow opening at the mountainside, a chance at shelter, but it was nothing more than a crater of broken stone. Another scream tore through the storm, distant and brief, ending in silence. He staggered to a cliff's edge and stared down into the void below. The thought of jumping, of ending this nightmare on his own terms, filled him with a flicker of relief.

At least the fall would be quick. He shuffled closer, toes over the edge. His ears twitched as he heard a loud, sharp whistling noise. A corpse hurtled through the storm, smashing into him with bone-splintering force. Flesh, blood, and broken limbs scattered across the rocks in a grotesque spray. He hadn't even been allowed the dignity of choosing his own death. The Harbinger had claimed even that. Tinto Likoro was dead before the pieces of him hit the ground.

__ Joe grunted as his twin knives crashed down onto the raised broadsword of a rock-skinned fighter, straining against the weight of his hit. Every clash was another horror, another moment of pointless carnage. He spun, driving one knife clean through his prey's torso. The competitor collapsed in silence, split in two, lifeless before he hit the mud. Only ten remained. Out of nearly three hundred. Joe straightened, chest heaving, and closed his eyes. He mourned them all, even those he had just cut down.

Their deaths were meaningless, but he would carry the weight. Above, the storm howled as the great bubble enclosing the mountain constricted, forcing the remaining survivors closer, coiling like a snake ready to crush them all together. Rain coursed down his armour, washing rivulets of blood from the wooden mask fused over his head. His body was no longer his own. Wrapped in jagged bark, crowned with two massive horns rising from his helm, he looked less like a man and more like some blood-soaked towering beast.

A crack of stone to his left made Joe move instantly. He surged forward as shards rained down where he had stood, pulverizing the ground to dust. The last ten competitors weren't ordinary; they were all top fifty on the integration leaderboard. So Joe knew better than to underestimate them. He barreled through a boulder, splinters of rock scattering, and caught sight of a blurred figure darting away. Fast. Too fast to identify.

Joe lowered his head and charged like a rhino after a lion, closing the distance step by step. More shards whistled at him from above. He ducked as they detonated against his armour, the impact knocking him into a pit and breaking his line of sight.

"Fuck!" He crouched low, raising his head cautiously. He could feel them, two Auras north, one east, three south. Closing in. He lifted his knives, and three attacks slammed into them at once. A storm cloud gathered overhead. He dove to the side, shards exploding downward and slamming into the ground. His breathing technique masked his Aura, leaving only sight to track him. He crawled to the pit's edge, then blasted forward, targeting the trio to the south. They scattered like startled prey.

Two vanished into smoke, another melted into liquid and seeped away. Joe didn't hesitate. He tore through the smoke cloud, knives sweeping in wide arcs, but nothing met his blades. Two figures materialized to his left, staff and wand raised. Joe slashed, unleashing a sweeping wave of mana. Their attacks fizzled as they scrambled to dodge. He lunged at the nearest one, knives screaming through the rain. The frog-like fighter shimmered, dissolving into some evasive skill, but too slow.

Joe's blade slammed down into his shoulder and carved him in half, blood spraying across the mud. A kill notification blinked. He moved again, ducking as another barrage of shards hammered his barding, shrapnel biting into the wooden plating. He spun, scanning frantically, but the battlefield was empty once more. He swore and stormed up a narrow slope. As he crested the ridge, light flared, his only warning before a colossal hammer smashed into his shoulder.

Joe rolled with the strike, twisting his neck and shoulder to bleed off the impact. The hammer rebounded harmlessly, leaving his attacker exposed. Joe's vision locked on the target's name. Gru Vestingagmofgor. Rank 20. Both knives came down in a savage arc. Gru's eyes widened as a shield appeared, deflecting Joe's knives and slamming them into the rock. Joe flipped, aiming a kick, but another shield struck his side and sent him tumbling off the cliff.

Stone shattered as his knives ripped free of the ground, and he plummeted down. The ground rushed up, but a blur of motion to his left caught his eye, a tiny flying thing, a masked ball of fur, wielding a crystal-tipped staff. At the same instant, storm clouds thickened overhead, shards of stone lancing down in a deadly hail.

"Found you, you little annoying bug," Joe muttered. He twisted his feet outward and blasted mana, hurtling straight for the mage that had been pelting him with shards for hours. It squealed as his massive frame smashed into it, both crashing into a jagged outcrop. You have slain Putrisence flounder 4th level 170. Ding! You have levelled up. Joe pushed himself upright, but a chill swept over him. To his left, the cliffside was gone. In its place shimmered a translucent wall of blue mana.

Behind it, faint shadows danced, alien, unsettling. A heavy dread coiled in his chest. Whatever lay beyond stretched deep into the mountain. Pebbles clattered from above. He glanced up; two figures loomed with wands raised, ready to strike. Joe made his choice. Instead of countering, he turned and sprinted through the glowing wall, thundering into the unknown depths of the mountain.