Prey No More

"Fuck! That's my bloody butt, you bloody mutt!"

The scream, filled with anguish yet an equal sense of anger, boomed through the world filled with heaps of metal and garbage as a figure rolled on the ground, quickly scrambling back up with an impressive jump.

In his gloved hands, one could see a rusty blade, but if one were to look from behind, they would spot a dangling piece of torn jeans and a pair of ruby-red buttocks peeking through the hole.

THUMP

THUMP

THUMP

The sound of heavy stomping echoed through the garbage area, and soon a creature appeared in the light, right where the knife pointed.

It was a rat—except it stood around the height of a five-year-old child, with whiskers that glinted in the orange light of the setting sun.

Its fur was like steel, though covered in dirt and strange mucus. Dragging along the ground were razor-sharp claws, which seemed more than capable of ripping a man's arm from his shoulder.

This was an E-grade Mutated Metallic Sewage Rat—one of the apex predators of the garbage area of Sector E.

"Shit! Talk about bad luck!"

Ryuk cursed under his breath as his shaky hands pointed the blade at the creature, which had stopped to fix him with a deadly stare.

He'd been going about his business of harvesting cores from smaller creatures and was just about done for the day, heading home, when he unknowingly stepped on the butt of this creature, waking it from its slumber.

And that was how he had been embroiled in this running battle—a battle he just couldn't seem to win.

Not only was the rat faster than him, but it was also relentless, chasing him without pause.

There was only one thing he could do if he didn't want to go home without his butt, and that was to face this bastard head-on.

But gods be damned, he had never fought a creature this big in his life. While he was confident in his evasion skills, he doubted that the rusty blade in his hands, specially made for harvesting cores, could even pierce the rat's thick, steel-like fur.

The heavens just had to pick today, of all days, to fuck with him.

Yet, as absurd as the thought was, Ryuk knew that if he managed to kill the rat, he could harvest its core, which would undoubtedly sell for three times the value of the cores he'd collected throughout the day.

This was a big bag of cash standing right in front of him.

At that thought, his mismatched crimson-red and blue eyes flashed with a shocking, greedy light that dimmed just as quickly as it came.

"Hey, you!"

"I know you can understand me!"

"Today, I'm feeling magnanimous, and out of infinite mercy, I'll allow you to go back to sleep."

"You can call it your lucky day. What do you say, huh?"

Ryuk asked as the creature turned its crimson eyes toward him. For a second, its gaze paused as if in thought, but then it quickly flashed with murderous intent as it suddenly swiped its claws to the side.

CLANG

The sound of metal clashing resounded, and a figure was sent reeling backward, slamming into a heap of metallic garbage that halted his movement.

"Shit! I almost got it!"

Ryuk thought to himself as he glanced toward the rat, which let out a powerful screech before scurrying toward him again.

He wasn't foolish or naïve enough to believe that a wild, mutated creature would let him off alive.

More importantly, he couldn't leave behind the pile of cash the gods had delivered to him.

Today, he would kill this creature and fill his pockets.

---

BAAAANG

The metallic heap gave way as the rat's claws crashed into it, but it didn't feel the expected flesh. Turning its gaze to the side, it found its prey, a fresh claw mark running down the side of his face.

'I can evade its strikes as long as I see them coming.'

'The cores of creatures like this aren't in their hearts like normal ones—they're in their heads.'

'Well, at least that's what I learned from Uncle Bob's manual.'

'Lucky for me, its eyes are also the only place not covered by that steely fur.'

'Piercing through them would be easier, and if I aim hard enough, I should shake its core. That should be enough to send it to the shadow realm.'

'I can win!'

Ryuk analyzed, and in the next instant, he sprinted toward the creature just as it sprinted toward him.

The rat was stunned for a moment, shocked to see its prey advancing with such confidence. It paused for a split second before erupting into a full-speed run toward Ryuk.

Three meters apart, it leaped high into the air, its massive shadow engulfing Ryuk as its sharp teeth bared at him, aiming for his head.

But at the last second, Ryuk slid to the ground, dodging the sharp teeth by mere inches as the creature crashed into the ground with a loud thump.

Immediately, a rustle of air blew by the rat's side as it swiped its claws, expecting to meet the rusty knife. Instead, its hand collided with nothing but a heap of metal.

It was a fake ambush!

Its gaze snapped to the other side, only to find the edge of Ryuk's blade mere inches away.

PUUUUCCHHIII

SCREEEEEEECHHH

The sound of steel piercing something soft resounded as the rat let out a painful screech.

The blade was buried halfway through its eye, and its wielder was none other than the prey it had been chasing.

In blind fury, it slashed its second claw toward Ryuk's left arm. The claws sliced through it like butter, drawing a painful grunt from Ryuk as he staggered backward, clutching his injured hand.

But just when it seemed like Ryuk was retreating in pain, he suddenly lunged forward. His two legs slammed into the hilt of the knife, driving it entirely through the rat's eye.

BANNNNNNGGGG

DROOP

DROOP

SILENCE

The heavy sound of something collapsing was followed by two knees hitting the ground.

Then, silence.