The Hunter Vs The Undead Whisperer

Edric stared in confusion as the mirror-creature hobbled towards the forest area on one leg. However, he only cared to look for a second, before crawling towards safety.

"Are we safe?" Afina asked, as he closed the door behind him. Ignoring her, he traced his fingers over the walls of the room.

~I doubt this wall will last long against a few of those energy bolts,~ he thought to himself, before turning to scan the rest of the room.

It had a simple set-up, with a straw bed towards one corner, and a small table with a single chair at the centre. There was a door that led towards another room at the far end, however it exuded a constant stream of black smoke that deterred any further exploration.

A moment later another sonic wave was let loose outside, followed by the sound of wood creaking and eventually a loud thud.

"What's going on outside?" Afina asked, already moving towards the window with a curious expression on her face.

"Tell me, Afina, do you know how any of those monsters work?" Edric asked, moving to rest his back against the wall.

"I've never been outside the city walls before this, my father never allowed me," Afina replied, jumping up and down to try and catch a glimpse of what was going on outside.

~If only that Andre fellow hadn't run off like an idiot,~ Edric thought to himself, applying pressure on the side of his hip where he had been shot. For some reason, the pain wasn't subsiding.

~Well, if he's taught me anything, it's that creatures get stronger around other slain creatures. And I want no part in witnessing what sort of abomination either of those things turn into once they get rid of the other,~ he thought to himself, before taking a series of short quick breaths.

"Come, there's money to be had," he whispered under his breath, before pushing himself up the wall to stand.

White hot pain travelled through his body like electricity, blinding him for a moment as he tried to regain his footing. Once he was stable he let out a soft grunt, before staggering towards the window, his hand still clutching at his hip.

~They're making quite the scene,~ he thought to himself, as he studied the collateral damage being caused by their battle.

At least a dozen trees had been snapped in half, and even more fractured branches were sprawled about. Although the mirror-creature seemed to be the more powerful monster, it was hampered by its restricted movement, something that it wouldn't have to face had it chosen to fight in its original form.

~What kind of creature is that anyway? What sort of zombie can transform into other people? Or is that how it always was? Have I just not watched enough zombie movies?~ he thought to himself, as Afina tried to climb up his leg to catch a glimpse of the fight.

"Is your father someone important?" he asked finally, gently pushing her down.

"Important?" she asked, with a confused expression on her face.

~After all, you were in the same convoy as the ex-chief of the Southern Guard. I don't know how much weight a chief of security holds in this world, but it should be quite a bit,~ he thought to himself, as Afina wracked her brain.

"He owns a lot of ships," she replied finally, unsure if that was what Edric was referring to.

~A fleet owner in a port city? I smell money,~ he thought to himself before stumbling towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Afina asked, already following him.

"I'm going to collect my coins, and then we'll go to the city," he replied. "Wait here," he added, once he was at the door.

~Since they're focused on each other, it should be easy to kill them, I just need to wait for the right moment,~ he thought to himself, before stumbling back towards the village leader's house.

The odd zombie creature had only spawned after they opened the trapdoor, so it wasn't too far-fetched to think that there was something of importance down there. Not to mention that the creature had only moved away from there once it was attacked.

Ignoring the sound of the creature's battle nearby, he entered the village head's house, and went straight to the trap door.

A thick cloud of black smoke still clung around the area, its pungent odour enough to make his eyes water. 

~What is that?~ he thought to himself, using his free hand to try and cover his mouth as he stared into the trap door.

There seemed to be a crimson coin floating within the smoke, that pulsated with every passing second.

~A heart?~ he realized, before reaching his hand out towards it.

The moment he made contact with the black cloud, it sizzled his skin, sending nerve-wracking pain all through his body. He spasmed on the ground in agony, his mind completely lost for a few seconds.

Once he recovered, he felt the pain spreading from his hand to the rest of his body.

~D-Did they stop fighting?~ he thought to himself, realizing he could no longer hear the sonic waves outside.

He slowly turned towards the door and found that the mirror-creature was hobbling towards him very quickly.

Although it had won the fight, it came at a heavy price. Its body was riddled with holes, and the glowing horn that had been attached to its right eye was now gone. Many of its magenta scales were also missing, and parts of its body had reverted to its fungus-like exterior.

~It looks flustered. Then is this connected to it somehow?~ he thought to himself, before quickly turning back to the crimson coin.

He had no idea what exactly it was, but if the creature was so desperate to come get him, then perhaps he was onto something. Without a second thought, he thrust his knife towards the crimson coin.

The pain from interacting with the black smoke surrounding it was enough to knock him in and out of consciousness multiple times a second.

To make matters worse, there seemed to be a strange force slowing his knife from reaching the red coin.

He turned to look at the door and found that the creature had reverted to its original form.

A moment later it transformed into a cloud of black smoke, that moved towards him at an even faster rate.

"Come on," he whispered hoarsely, his body almost completely drained of energy. Realizing that he would soon collapse if this continued, he moved to place his full weight on his arm, causing his entire body to come into contact with the black smoke.

The pain had reached a point that no mortal could hope to endure. And as his vision blackened, the last thing he saw was the creature making it through the door.