BXBX NOVEL Chapter 30: Rage of the Formless!
"Burn the boats," I quietly muttered.
With no choice but to fight, the armies all turned from soldiers paid to work to humans who rabidly wished to live a single day longer. And right now, my girls and I were in the same scenario. Insanity aside, in order to kill the boss before the sun rose, we leapt headfirst into an endless horde of undead.
"CHEEEESUTO!"
"Aki! Huff…You are going to fast! Liv, Keep up!"
"UOOOOOOO!!!"
"FUCK ME DEAD! AAAHHHHH!"
"Robyn, get back here!"
The girls were fighting tooth and nail. Aki shifted tactics from fighting like a ninja to fighting like a samurai. Liv, who carried heavier armor and a shield, had troubles remaining in front. Jo also was going berserk and ran around like a blonde shooting star. Robyn, infected with the excitement, left her post and started fighting like a rabid animal.
Bella, who had trouble keeping up with them, started to get ragged. Jasmine and I, firing while running, also couldn't even comment due to the stress. We were running in order to increase our distance from the brute. I didn't know how long Amari could keep the boss in check, but we were running out of time.
'{Rewind}, you were always listening to me, right? I need the ability to endure damage. You know what I want. So, evolve towards that.'
I didn't know who to direct my words to, so I ended up talking to my {fate}. If it followed my wishes like {kismet}, this was the time to know for sure. We already burned the boats. It was now or never. If I was wrong, we all would die, but I refused to give up without trying.
I stopped running and placed my finger on my soulgem and forced it to evolve.
'Evolve!' I inwardly shouted.
Heat hotter than lava flowed through my veins from the stone on my neck. With it, a new ability downloaded itself into my mind. My lips curled into a smile. A feeling of omnipotence made me giddy from excitement. It seemed the heavens had yet to forsake me.
"HAHAHAHA, I WAS RIGHT!"
My sudden laughter called the attention of my girls. Due to their emotional states, they hadn't noticed I suddenly got left behind. But that didn't matter right now.
"BELLA! Kill as much as you can, but do not come towards me!" I roared.
"What? Why?! Girls turn back! Honey got left behind!"
Before they could turn around, the zombies began to run past them. The horde's target? Of course it would be me. Hundreds of zombies ran towards me like kids towards an ice cream truck. But instead of fear, fighting spirit dominated my very soul.
"{SUFFER}! COME AT ME YOU FUCKERS! I AM JOHN SMITH AND I WILL NOT DIE HERE!" Like a lion, I summoned every bit of courage and raised my gun.
The 1911, my partner since this night began, fired nonstop. I felt amazing. Like an action star, I shot Normies in the head left and right. I punched and kicked the others that came for me. A Chuckie lunged for me and I sent a kick to its face, sending it flying.
A Bigfoot tried to bite me and I shot its knees to make it kneel. I sent a full powered pistol wipe to its neck. Using {Listen} and {Perceive}, I could sense everything around me. I touched the 1911 and casted a {fate} I got from Josephine.
"{Dampen}."
The 1911 no longer made sounds when I fired it. Naturally, this was only to my ears. It came at the perfect moment as the gunfire was starting to make me deaf. More and more undead came towards me. Unable to cope with the horde, I got scratched by some.
Without {Withstand} and {Endure}, I didn't have as much resiliency. A zombie then hugged me from the back, but before it could bite my neck, an arrow quickly ended its life.
"JOHN!"
The girls looked panicked as they approached me, but I held up my hand and told them something they did not expect.
"Do not come here! Let them overrun me! Kill the ones not aiming for me!"
"What? Smith-san, WHY! You will die!"
"WOMBAT have you gone insane?!"
Surprisingly, only Robyn and Aki expressed their doubts. The others all turned around and went to battle against the undead once more. Unable to pay attention to them, I continued to kill the ones taking chunks of my skin off.
"{REGEN}. {RELOAD}."
I casted my new ability, {Regen}. It healed the difference from my current state and my {Auto}. Still, it was much like {Withstand}. I needed to endure everything first. The missing flesh on my body got renewed. I shrugged off the Normies and blew their heads off.
'Not yet… it's not enough.'
Zombie after zombie got shot or took a bite before I could end them. Souls by the tens began to flood into me. Not even getting a second to stop, my hands started to get numb from the recoil until the worst happened.
Click, the 1911 suddenly jammed. A bullet cartridge got caught between the slide and the ejection port.
"SHIT!"
I ejected the magazine while punching a zombie. Like a quarterback, I weaved as the undead threw themselves at me. {Regen} continued to heal my injuries but I was getting pretty tired. I dashed towards a Chuckie and lunged for it.
The Chuckie naturally bit the unprotected parts of my arm. But two could play that game. I then went in and bit the neck of the undead child trying to kill me.
"{Eat}. {Digest}."
Aki's third skill was for poison immunity. I could even drink snake venom and I would not die. Naturally, my hesitation to bite the shit out of these fuckers disappeared. With my stamina restored, I threw the Chuckie away afterwards and pulled back the slide of my gun twice.
I saw the rogue shell separate from the 1911.
"Nice, back in business. {Reload}."
Barely in time to react, two Normies lunged for me. I quickly fired two rounds from my gun while I fell on my back. One of my shots missed, and the undead took a bite out of my ear and tore it off.
"ARGHHH!!! GET OFF ME TYSON!"
{Regen} was healing my injuries as fast as I got them. I would not die, but holy hell it hurt. As the damage accumulated, I could feel my heart beat faster.
'Not yet. This is not enough.'
I quickly got up and continued to fight. Just then, I heard a loud boom. A towering shadow started to run towards us.
"It takes too long for these fuckers. Guess it was inevitable." I started to run towards the brute.
The zombies around the girls started to leave them and chase after me. It seemed that souls really were what they valued. They should be safe for now. Bella and the others would have earned enough souls to use {Rewind} at least.
"EVERYONE! STAY AWAY! {CARRY}! {HIKE}!" I bellowed.
{Hike} was the 3rd ability of {Carry}. It reduced air resistance and allowed one to run faster. Like an Olympic sprinter, I ran towards the boss faster than the speed of a moving car, leaving most of the horde behind.
Surprisingly, I got through barely a minute of running until I saw shadows around me. Jo, Jas had Liv on their shoulders, Robyn had Isabella on her back and Aki ran alone. Holy shit! I could understand Robyn, but the Descendants and the Ninja also ran this fast?
"Darling, what's the plan?"
"I told you all to stay away!" I angrily rebuked them.
"Smith-san, our survival also hangs on you. Let us help."
"Wombat, stop wasting time. What now?"
"Send me flying toward the bastard's face," I commanded.
"ROGER!" they shouted in unison.
Bella suddenly started issuing commands. "Jo, Jas, we will use Liv as a platform. Aki, Robyn, can you girls make midair footholds?"
"YES!"
In a single moment, the girls made a plan I was simply unable to follow. The brute was less than a mile away now. Jo and Jas ran even faster and threw Liv forward like a brick. The Northerner landed. She raised her shield over her head and kneeled.
Robyn and Aki went into a separate direction. Jo and Jas turned back and ran towards me. They dashed to my sides and carried me by the armpits. Afterwards the three of us sprinted towards Liv.
"Ugh, can someone explain what is going on?"
"No time, just get ready to fly," Jasmine responded curtly.
The moment we reached Liv the sisters leapt and smashed their feet towards Liv's shield. Using the resulting surface as a platform, we were sent into the air. Just when the moment our acceleration was about to stop, Aki and Robyn appeared in midair and held their hands together with fingers interlocked.
Again, the sisters stomped their feet on the footholds made by the shinobi and the combat joey. Their leg power sent the other two falling to the ground. We, on the other hand, shot towards even higher.
How they hell did they all understand to do something like this? We were already higher than the brute. As I marveled at the creativity, the sisters threw me downwards like a meteor.
"FUUUUCCCKKKKKK!!!" I yelled.
The brute sent his gigantic fist my way despite its obvious surprise.
I sent my fist forward as well. The difference between our fist sizes was like a mountain and an ant. Still I did not fear. The moment our fists collided, without {Withstand} and {Endure} the sounds of my bones snapping and my veins bursting sent my nerves into excruciating agony.
But in the next second {Regen} healed all the damage just for the cycle to repeat. However, this pain was what I needed, after a few milliseconds it came. My heart, which now felt like a small sun, started to burn me alive from the inside out. The moment I waited for had finally arrived.
"FEEL THE RAGE OF THE FORMLESS, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! {COUNTER}!"