Chapter 8: Old Man

Pech was now walking in a area that looked as if a barrage of fire bombs had been thrown. Trees had holes, the dirt covered ground was burnt, and it smelled like fire and smoke. It seemed like a battle took place recently.

Each step Pech took made the ground crunch loudly

He coutinued his walk until his eyes happened to catch the figure of a old man. The old man looked to be a human and was squirming under a tree that looked like it collasped.

He instantly noticed Pech's presence, it seemed as if he was awaiting his arrivial, he yelled out

"Youngster! Don't stand and watch, help this feeble old man out of this bizzare predicement" The old man said while looking in the direction of Pech.

Pach's eyes narrowed at the old man who could yell perfectly fine despite have a large tree atop him. He remembered the guardian in Limbo told him to be careful of humans the most. The reason Pech had carried worry is because of how the man looked or rather his age.

'How could a old man survive a the demon's out here but be stopped by a tree?' he thought while looking at the man. He just fought a demon to the death so how could a old man in the same area live? He wasn't looking down on the the man, those thoughts of paranoia just took home in his mind.

This question made Pech doubt the man even more.

The old man noticed it and grew displeased then said in a loud voice

"Are you going to help me or what? Are you one of those people who get thrills watching other people helplessly suffer. If you aren't, could you come over here and help me out?

Pech walked over to the man and looked him in the eyes before he threw he foot into the face of of the old man who was about to smile.

When Pech looked the man in the eyes, he saw himself looking back, however not directly and rather upside down like inverted mirror. He was glad his sister let him play that supernatural game. He remembered he once died while helping a old man in the middle of a game, when he stared the man in the eyes he was attacked and drained of all his liquid like a towel. The man that killed him had eyes that inverted the reflection of his character, he recalled those monsters being called aswang. Not only that but it seems the man carried a pungent amount of blood on his body that Pech noticed when he got closer.

The man caught the foot inside of his mouth and slamed down his newly tranformed teeth. The teeth went through the shoe and bite into the skin of Pech. Pech gritted his teeth and pain and slamed the bare fist on the top of the aswang's head.

The aswang looked unfazed and keep trying to devour the foot of Pech. Pech didn't stop either and threw every punch with the intent to kill.

It seemed like after dozens of punch the brain of the aswang finally rattled because he let go of the shoe and foot. Pech took steps away and looked around for anything he could use. However the Aswang didn't let him look around for to long. The Aswang who took the form of a old man used its arm strength and jumped of the ground. The ground shook like a earthquake just happened under his feet. He lost his balance and tried to regain it but the aswangwas already in front of him.

[Snap]

The snap of human bones loudy rang out into the area. The Aswangs fist pierced the body of Pech like a bullet with the force of a fast ship. Pech's eyes went blurry before he regained his vision, he was no longer touching the ground but rather hundreds of meters in the air.

Even through it wasn't time to sight see, he couldn't help to look the fire light view. His world view was replaced once again as a heavy foot sole crashed down onto the spine of his back. It felt like his spine was completely shattered but he could still move. He fell down more than a hundred meters in the air with the force of a heavy bowling ball. His stomach ached and his vision blackened when he fell to the ground, he rolled over with his stomach facing the sky with the intent to move. He only saw the brief figure of the aswang that tried to slam all of its weight down on Pech from more than a hunred meters in the sky.

His body moved before he could completely see what was happening. His body dodged the leg slam and the aswald foot slamed into the ground and began stuck like a anchor on a ship after docking.

Pech took this chance to launch a furry of adrenaline filled punches towards the old aswald. The aswang took every punch with a smile and it seemed like he was enjoying it. The old monster said

"Little more to the left, litte human. Ah, yes right there" The Aswang said as if it skin was getting stratched.

Pech didn't stop. Maybe this was some sort of mind game to make his lose all hope and stop trying. Pech launched punch after punch until the Aswang simply raised its foot and kicked Pech with a simple front kick.

Pech felt his organs rearange as he flew away and skid across the ground like a rock over water. Pech was laying down with his arm over a cliff. He slighty turned his neck and saw lava and spikes, but that was all he could see completely because the fall seemed endless in the eyes of Pech. Pech used his remaining strength to stand up after a moment. The Aswang then came into the view of Pech.

The Aswald spoke and said

"You are rather tough compared to other humans. I wonder how that tough body would taste as it slides down my throat. Remember the name of the Aswang that devoured your soul, Chanchu is the name human." He said with a smile that seemed to enjoy this form of despairful teasing.

Pech threw out a punch but it was caught by Chanchu. His arm was then inverted, the pain made his head raise but he didn't cry out or scream because that is what the Aswang wanted, he wanted ti hear the screams of humans he heard so many times before.

Chanchu raised the human by his throat with one hand and allowed his sharp and long nails to slighty dig into his throat. It was like a knife being slighty cut on the throat of a hostage. The aswang named Chanchu held the human away from the cliff to allow him to see it clearly the. offered him a choice he saw as fair.

"You either have your soul devoured by me now or I drop you into this pit and have you suffer before I completely devour your soul and body. Souls tastes many times better when a person offers it willingly. I never made a third choice, so hurry up and pick before I do." The confident voice of the old man said.

Pech said nothing and spit blood and spit into they eyes of the Aswang. This caught him off guard because of how quick he did it without thinking of the choice the action momentarily blinded his line of sight. The aswang then felt a pain in his ear which cause caused his eyes to open more, which allowed the blood and spit to spew even more into his eyes. Pach used his mouth and ripped the wrinkly ear off of the old Aswang's body. The Aswang instinctivly reached for his ear to check if it was still there. This was maybe the last chance Pech would ever obtain. He forcefully removed the hand of the demon who checked his ear. The nails cut his skin like a barrage of knives, he ignored the stinging pain and jumped down and touched the ground once more. He channeled all his energy and launched a shoulder charge into the belly of the aswang. The Awang was sent back but didn't fall off the cliff. Pach stopped the charge and instantly crouched down and lightly jumped then slamed the dome of his head againet the chin of the Aswang.

It felt like sandpaper rubbing against his chin. The force was enough to break the balance of Chanchu. Pach fist filled with desire, the will to live, and adrenaline and punched the face of the Aswang. It was only slightly stronger that his first punch, but it was enough to make the Aswang fall off the cliff into the lava, spikes, and seemingly endless fall.

Pach legs grew weak as he fell onto his knees.

He roared out a batte cry while looking into the underworld's sky.