[Chapter 2] - Feasting
(3RD POV)
A black blur dashed around the snow-covered forest opening, within the area were several zombies all wielding weapons while trying to hit the blur. One head went flying and the walking dead immediately swivelled around to see the culprit but saw no one.
Behind another individual zombie, two red eyes shone ominously and hungrily.
In an instant, the said zombie was cleaved into pieces as blood flowed and covered the surface of the snow once more. However, the loss of one kin did not deter the remaining zombies from attempting to cut down the perpetrator known as Fate Vassago.
The rogue thrall's eyes continuously shone dangerously as he sliced and diced his former kin mercilessly, unfortunately, due to Fate's still amateurish method of combat, a zombie was able to disarm the thrall just for a moment before finding her head blown off by a fist.
Seeing Greed was lodged into the ground several feet away, Fate adopted a makeshift melee stance, legs spread apart slightly and one fist next to his waist and his free hand raised up in front of him to guard his front.
One zombie disregarded the strange position of Fate before she charged forward and attempted to stab the rogue thrall's head with a deteriorated lance. However, Fate instantly slapped away the offending weapon before shooting his fist forward and towards his opponent's head.
Rotten blood and flesh erupted in the air as Fate's unwavering face was obscured by it.
The rest of the zombies remained undeterred, all continuously hellbent on killing the rogue kin in front of them, but Fate still appeared unaffected by the numbers and hostility in the air around him. He simply charged before ducking and avoiding numbers of weapons aimed at him before he slid on the ground and grabbed Greed once again.
Fate turned around quickly just in time to decapitate a zombie that ran towards him at the slight chance of an opening but immediately froze in what appears to be fear.
However, before the undead could contemplate what was happening to its body, it was quickly met with a blade to her neck hence leaving her now bloody stump of a neck spewing out blood like a mini volcano.
As the body fell, Fate simply looked at the rest apathetically before he walked towards them.
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Later on in another clearing of the forest, the rogue thrall sat on a small rock while leaning on Greed like a cane while he surveyed the area around and in front of him.
All littered with snow and bodies.
"Well, got to say I'm impressed, you were literally a whirlwind of brutality back there." Greed commented.
"The zombies... why did they smell more... appetizing than before..?" Fate questioned.
"Haah... how nostalgic... but of course, you had the starvation boost acting on you." Answered the blade.
"My red eyes..?" Fate wondered, looking at his pupils in his reflection on Greed while the latter immediately answered back.
"Exactly. Starvation boost is a side-effect of Gluttony that makes the user crave for more souls, in other words; death."
"It provides a boost to basic statuses, the ability and skill to detect 'prey' through smell akin to a wild beast as well as the activation of night vision through the red eyes."
"The red eye also has the effect of paralyzing those who are inferior in terms of statuses from sheer fear alone. Remember that poor zombie from before?"
"I see... no wonder... those zombies were just... standing there..." Fate replied tonelessly.
"Sounds like this... 'red eye' will be quite... a nuisance..." He added.
"At least it served its purpose. After all, the starvation boost is just a temporary power that raises the efficiency of the Gluttony skill to devour souls."
"...Temporary..." Fate began as he got up from his rock and turned around.
"Then how many more... must I kill to subside... the effects..?" He questioned, emotionlessly looking at the sheer number of corpses from zombies on the ground.
Ranging from 20 to over 50.
"Mere zombies like those won't help much to satiate you, try hunting something bigger than them like the bear you killed last week." Greed stated.
"Bears..." Fate muttered before looking towards the denser part of the forest.
"Ah, right. The upper northern portion of the forest has several scratch marks found on the trees, a definite sign of bears inhabiting the area." Greed voiced his owner's thoughts.
"Good." Was all Fate said before he began walking towards the forest.
"I guess we're hunting bears for the rest of the night or coming days?" Greed asked.
"If the situation... doesn't prove too... life-threatening..." Fate replied.
"Well, let's be honest here. This is BEARS we're talking about and the one from last week almost tore you apart like paper." The sword offhandedly pointed out.
"..." Fate only sighed at the remark, choosing to ignore the blade.
"Oh, come on, don't give me the cold shoulders when I'm right." Greed said as the thrall continued his way deeper into the forest.
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Fate stood in front of a large clearing in the darkened forest, right in front of him and in his sights is a large cave entrance that loomed over him, threatening to swallow him whole. However, the tables are turned because it won't be whatever's inside the cave that swallows him.
It's him who will swallow what's inside the cave.
On cue, several growls and snarls were heard from within the dark cavern as literal shining eyes began appearing one by one in pairs, footsteps afar closed in and neared the lone thrall as he emotionlessly watched on as one to many northern bears stepped out from the cave.
Most likely their den.
"I wager a number of 10 to 15 bears in that cavern, think you can live through this?" Greed questioned, calmly albeit slightly nervous.
Should Fate die, he doesn't want to be covered in bear scratches or even worse, faeces.
"I... don't think... I can live through this..." Fate began as Greed started to voice his confusion.
"Wha-?"
"I... KNOW... I can live through this..." Fate declared, striding towards the approaching bears, brandishing the black sword.
"...Heh. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! Let's get 'em, partner!"
"Right..!" Fate agreed as the duo charged into the horde.
The first bear swiped at the rogue thrall but due to Fate's recently enhanced and upgraded statuses, the latter easily leapt over the attack before stabbing Greed straight into the bear's cranium. Blood spurted out as the bear instantly fell to the ground, dead.
Then came the second and third bears that roared at the death of their brethren, both came charging towards Fate before attempting to pounce on him at the same time.
However, like before with the previous bear, the thrall leapt over the two beasts before slicing the tendons in their hind legs, disabling their movements.
With two bears occupied with sliced legs, Fate took this opportunity to avoid another volley of claws slashing at him before he cut off the offending bear's paw.
The animal reared back in pain before finding Greed impaling it from below the chin and out the its skull, pulling back his blade and allowing the bear to fall down dead.
Looking back, more bears have opted to charge at him and making Fate dodge to the side before he slashed at the unguarded neck of the animal.
Blood splattered over the snow as a head rolled aside before the rogue zombie leapt back and avoided a pair of jaws that just bit down on the air where he stood at earlier.
Regaining his footing, Fate dashed forward again before he stabbed Greed straight into the bear's eye and immediately drew it across the animal's face, effectively slicing open the bear's entire face. As it fell to the ground, Fate watched impassively as more bears appeared from within the cavern.
"Seriously, how many bears are there in that cave?" Greed wondered out loud, voicing Fate's own curious thoughts.
Fate watched on as more bears surround him before raising the blade in his hands again.
Tonight is going to be a bloodbath.
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Greed was thrusted into a head of another northern bear as the animal let out a death rattle before falling silent and motionless. Fate took out the blade before flicking off the blood and turning around, where a pile of bloody bear carcasses laid in pieces and gore.
"That's... the last of them..." Fate murmured before an ear-piercing roar penetrated the night.
"Looks like the big boss is finally here, and it does not sound happy with us culling its children." Greed remarked as a pair of eyes emerged from the dark cavern.
Footsteps grew closer and closer as a snarl continued piercing through the air, forcing Fate to grip onto Greed tighter and taking up his stance. While he almost cannot feel anything, pain or emotions, his body still innately knew the sheer differences between this bear and the rest.
Just as Fate finished musing, the last bear revealed itself, towering over Fate several meters even if it's just crouched on all four legs. The thrall doesn't want to know how much brute strength hides behind that layer of fur and scars, nor does he want to know how small would he be.
"So... this is their leader..." Fate muttered, noting that the bear also towered over its dead brethren before glancing at its stats.
[Northern Bear Leader - Level 30]
[Strength] - 87,573
[Stamina] - 93,706
[Agility] - 84,124
[Skills]
Roar of Domination, Strength Reinforcement (Master), Stamina Reinforcement (High), Agility Reinforcement (Expert), Pain Resistance (High)
[Arts]
Brutal Slashes
"The statistics... are insane..." Fate added.
"And judging by its intentions, we ain't getting out of here scot-free." Greed interjected.
"Hm... doesn't matter..." The thrall rebuked readying himself as the giant bear roared before instantly charging forward.
"?!?!" Both Fate and Greed were surprised by the shocking agility possessed by the huge beast as the former rolled out of the way, avoiding the bear by an inch.
Just as the thrall stood back up again and looked back, he saw a huge pair of jaws aiming straight for his head with the intention to bite it clean off. Straining himself due to the urgency of the situation, Fate immediately threw himself on the ground as the bear went flying past.
However, Fate did not let this opportunity fly past as well, he raised Greed up and towards the bear's unguarded abdomen. Despite the black blade's lethality and sharpness, Greed only managed to dig into the bear's skin and drew out blood.
Snarling at the attempt of killing it, the bear swivelled around and tried to smash Fate into a pulp with its razor-sharp claw filled paw. Fortunately, the latter managed to jump out of the way again to watch the ground and snow fly all around the area as the paw made impact.
"This... is harder... than I thought..." Fate remarked, brandishing Greed who also voiced his own thoughts on the fight.
"The best thing we did is just draw out some blood, not enough to even faze it but just enough to make things worse."
Fate nodded as the bear stood up on its hind legs, revealing its full height and glory as it roared once again, assuming what appears to be a dominant advantage. Despite the seemingly sheer differences in stats and skills, Fate remained unfazed, only responding by raising Greed up.
In return, the bear leader responded by charging forward again and swiping at Fate with greater speed than before, hence forcing the latter to block the claws with Greed while getting thrown back several feet. Fate's arms strained against the blunt force of the impact while he readied himself again for what will appear to be a brutal showdown.
Fate took the initiative as he dashed towards the bear who swiped at him again but the former quickly slid on the snow and between the bear's legs before leaping on its back and attempting to force Greed into the skin. However, it's proven to be more difficult than Fate thought.
The leader of the bears then snarled fiercely in annoyance before it began shaking and sprinting around the area, trying to make Fate let go of its back. Despite the raging beast and its strength, Fate did not relent and continued pushing Greed into the bear's skin.
Unfortunately, that only served to further anger the bear as it suddenly shook violently and making Fate lurch forward, allowing a pair of teeth-filled jaws to clamp onto the thrall's arm and then dragging Fate through the air before letting go.
The rogue zombie sailed through the forest before slamming into a tree that took the breath out of Fate as he landed roughly on the snow which covered him up, the snow stationed on the frozen branches and leaves also fell onto the thrall, further burying him.
However, this served Fate's favour as he quickly made himself as motionless as possible whilst burying any sort of traces of his body before the bear could spot him. Glancing at his arm which was almost mangled with even the bones visible, Fate ignored it since it wasn't the right time.
It's time to play hide-and-seek.
The giant bear walked into the area, unaware of the thrall's new hiding spot and began looking around while sniffing the air but to no avail did it manage to find Fate's scent. Honkai zombies were usually odourless, only smelling when they get burnt or shot by firearms due.
Fate utilized this to his advantage, he peeked through the snow that served as a cover and locking onto the bear that snorted, glaring for signs of the zombie but its efforts proved fruitless once more. Snarling in annoyance and anger, it trudged onwards into the forest, hoping to find its prey further within the trees.
After a minute, Fate got up from the freezing ground and dusted any remaining snow off his clothes, from the sound of it, the bear won't be coming back to this area for a while. Leaving Fate to himself and Greed.
Good.
"Even though there is a difference between the bear's stats and yours, it's not by much." Greed remarked as Fate looked at his own stats.
[Fate Vassago - Level 1]
[Strength] - 78,106
[Stamina] - 81,995
[Agility] - 79,051
[Skills]
Gluttony, Appraisal, Regeneration (Basic), Strength Reinforcement (High), Stamina Reinforcement, Roar of Intimidation
[Arts]
Sharp Edge
"Are you still going to go for it? One of your arm is mangled." Asked the blade, pointing out Fate's bloody arm.
"The bear... is dangerous... but the rewards... are too good to pass... those skills will... prove useful... in the future..." Replied the zombie as he sneaked after the bear.
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The thrall trudged through the deep snow, following closely after the deep footprints left behind by the bear leader and the occasional claw marks on the trees. Fate continued looking around the forest for any sign of the animal coming to him but there was nothing but snow and trees.
Until a scream pierced through the winds and forest.
"What... was that?" Questioned Fate.
"That was probably a poor soul that got caught by the bear, most likely a human."
Following the screams, Fate snuck through the snow as he got closer and closer towards the origins of the outburst.
The rogue zombie and sentient sword were soon greeted by the sound of bones crunching and flesh ripping, Fate then peeked around a tree just in time to see the bear bite down on a bloody mangled human corpse.
However, Fate is unfazed by the act as he watches the bear devour the corpse.
"Looks like it's pretty hungry if it's taking whatever it can as a treat, we did wake it up from its nap." Greed noted with Fate nodding.
"Go slowly and quietly and look for a weak point, okay?" He added.
"Got it..." Fate whispered as he closed in the distance with him and the bear bits by bits.
Now, the thrall is standing just well below 5 metres behind the unsuspecting animal.
"Now! Go for it, Fate!" Greed instructed as Fate sprinted towards the giant bear, closing in the distance as he raised the blade up.
"Aim under the armpits! Swing it while it's distracted!"
Gripping onto Greed harder, Fate is now behind the bear before he swung upwards.
A sickening sound of blade slicing through flesh was heard through the forest.
The bear, now standing up roaring in absolute pain at the loss of an arm with its blood splashing across the formerly white snow. Winter birds and animals could be seen and heard scurrying away from the sheer intensity of the pained roar.
"The sneak attack... worked..." Fate muttered as he glanced at the bloodied arm.
"What are you doing?! Get back now!" Greed shouted as Fate immediately leapt back before a large paw impacted the spot where he stood earlier.
Fate looked back to see the bear, now standing in front of him and completely pissed off at the fact that its earlier prey managed to wound and slice off its arm. Within a second, the two burst off into a chaotic flurry of dodge-and-weave, at least for Fate.
Each blow from the angered bear took out a chunk of earth and snow from the ground as Fate continued dodging the attacks. A slash to the thrall was avoided, a swing from the remaining arm was ducked over, a smash from the bear was dodged.
However, that simply cause the bear to go on a rampage in order to kill Fate.
"You won't be able to beat it just by running away." Greed remarked as Fate continued dodging the attacks.
"I know... but those claws... are dangerous..." Fate replied, jumping back just as the bear landed on the spot where he was earlier.
"Those claws are nothing! It's just the bear's skills that making it dangerous! Trust me! Just go and slice off its fingers!" Greed rebuked as Fate stared at him uncertainly.
However, all traces of hesitation disappeared from the zombie as he turned around.
"Alright... I trust you..." Fate stated, taking a stance with Greed as the bear closed in on him.
Which Fate responded with a charge of his own, blade raised as he also closed in on the bear.
As the two adversaries closed in on each other, one raised its claws and another one raised the black blade with the intent to kill. The night sky is soon filled with roars and winds, not even a second later, five small fingers flew into the air accompanied with another roar of pain.
Fate stood behind the giant bear who's attempting to stem its bleeding and fingerless paw.
"Now! Finish this fight!" Greed urged on as the bear turned around with newfound hate.
Once again, Fate dashed forward towards the bear who followed suit, roaring with a desired determination to maim the thrall. With no claws or arm, the bear had no choice but to use its more powerful arsenal left, which is its jaws.
As Fate closed in the distance between the two, the bear lunged forward with its maws open wide and ready to devour the rogue zombie's head. However, before the pair of jaws could even touch a hair on Fate, the thrall dropped himself to the snow and slid forward.
Right as he's under the bear's unguarded and opened throat, Fate thrusted Greed upwards with all his might and this time, fortunately. The blade managed to pierce the bear's neck, and with the momentum of Fate sliding on the snow still going, Greed's edge began cutting the bear's body from its throat and down towards its abdomen like butter.
Fate then slid out from between the bear's hind legs and rolled away before getting up.
The thrall turned around and looked at the motionless bear before sheathing Greed back onto his waist, Fate then walked over to the frozen animal which its guts then spilled out with a huge burst of blood. The snow is then dyed crimson red with the moonlight shining on it along with the dead corpse of the formerly bear leader.
As Fate stood next to the body, his eyes shone red for a brief second.
[Skill: Gluttony Activated]
[Following Stats will be added to your Status:]
[Strength] +87,573
[Stamina] +93,706
[Agility] +84,124
[Skill: Roar of Domination, Strength Reinforcement (Master), Stamina Reinforcement (High), Agility Reinforcement (Expert), Pain Resistance (High), has been added.]
[Arts: Rapid Slashes has been added.]
"I managed... to win... somehow..." He muttered before sitting on the corpse and glancing at his stats, now completely filled with new skills and numbers.
[Fate Vassago - Level 1]
[Strength] - 165,679
[Stamina] - 175,701
[Agility] - 163,175
[Skills]
Gluttony, Appraisal, Regeneration (Basic), Roar of Domination, Strength Reinforcement (Master), Stamina Reinforcement (High), Agility Reinforcement (Expert), Pain Resistance (High)
[Arts]
Sharp Edge, Brutal Slashes
"Good job!" Greed praised before continuing on.
"With all the stats you've accumulated, we can now unlock my first form, ah... this feels so nostalgic..." Added the blade as Fate looked at him, confused.
"First... form..?" He repeated as Greed explained.
"This concerns your status points as my wielder, by sacrificing all the stats that you have gained since meeting me. You can increase the number of unique forms that I can take."
"If there's... a first..." Fate began but the blade knew what he's about to ask.
"Of course there will be a second and a third and even a fourth. To unlock those, a special trigger is needed, and of course, a lot of status points."
"So... I start from scratch... with every... new forms?" Fate commented.
"Can't blame me, I'm called Greed for a reason." The said sword retorted as the zombie remained silent before he got up and grabbed Greed.
"...Very well... let's do this." Fate declared, holding up the blade.
"Understood." Greed replied instantly as an invisible energy-filled winds surrounded Fate.
"I won't let you down!" He stated the black blade began glowing while Fate felt his head throb lightly in pain.
Soon, the light died down before Fate grabbed Greed again and marvelled in his new form.
"Is this..?" He began.
"Indeed, this form is the merit of all your efforts." Greed said as the zombie held up the weapon in its new form.
Gone was the blade and in its place was a large twisted and amalgamated black bow.
[Greed - Level 1: Bow]
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[Fate Vassago - Level 1]
[Strength] - 56,327
[Stamina] - 43,958
[Agility] - 47,911
[Skills]
Gluttony, Appraisal, Regeneration (Basic), Roar of Domination, Strength Reinforcement (Master), Stamina Reinforcement (High), Agility Reinforcement (Expert), Pain Resistance (High)
[Arts]
Sharp Edge, Rapid Slashes
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