The figure adorned in stained, torn rags unnaturally snapped its wretched neck in Michael's direction, staring at him with lifeless eyes shrouded with a hooded mask. Michael nearly gave into fear and ran away, but stood his ground and glared at the abomination in return.
This wasn't what he planned, but it was about time he learned how to improvise.
'What are you gonna do? Charge? Diversion? Some hidden power?'
The beast's frail fingers tightened around the worn scythe and bright torch, the incandescent light dancing across the silvery, towering headstones and huge mausoleums. The two paused their movements for a while, Michael dripping cold sweat behind his stained helm as the menacing figure stood still.
Until it moved...
...and ran?
Michael froze in complete shock as the abomination awkwardly turned around in the cramped pathway and rushed back down the alley it came from.
'It's running? Do I look that scary?'
He had to admit he did look pretty terrifying with the blood stained armor and all, but enough to scare off a Nightmare Creature?
'I guess it's a cowardly creature... wait... are Nightmare Creatures supposed to feel fear?'
Michael swore from the tidbits he heard throughout his life that Nightmare Creatures were mindless and utterly absorbed in perverted hunger against humans.
It wasn't running out of fear.
It was running for...
'...Reinforcements!?'
Were they intelligent enough for such a thing? Michael was too clueless, but he wasn't going to let his arrogance be his downfall. He focused on sensing through his blood flowing amongst the dirt muddied with crimson and chased after the fleeing abomination.
He could've escaped, but his life wasn't threatened yet.
Michael was much faster than the waddling, walking corpse and swiftly erased the distance. He swung with his arm still battered from the tunnel, but just as he was about to land the serrated edge against the figure's neck...
...He slipped on the mud.
Michael slid and crashed into a mausoleum's stone wall, denting it with his formidable armor. He hurried onto his feet, cursing himself for his silly display, and bolted towards the abomination. His blood sense never lost track of it, so he knew exactly which corners to duck into for the fastest route.
After catching up, he entered a wide clearing at the heart of the village of crypts and towering headstones. A dead tree stood in the center, a soaring monument perfectly embodying hopelessness, its dull wood laid bare to the starlight with no lush veil to soften the void.
Instead of vibrant leaves rustling in the calm wind, skeletons gently swayed from the branches with fragile rope around their necks. The bones were stained with age and broken beyond recognition, creaking softly in the breeze like wind-chimes. There were dozens of bodies, those with their skulls intact looking at the stars for guidance with empty, soulless gazes.
Michael heard the brittle snap of bones under his steel boots as he fixed his eyes upon the figure, parting the femurs and ribcages like the drifting, hanging branches of a weeping willow. The torchlight fell behind the eerie ornaments, disappearing under the shade.
He raced to the sorrowful tree, his feet sinking into the bloody mud, but he was too late.
As Michael neared the skeletons, a loud bell echoed throughout the opening, reverberating across the tombs and crypts. He stopped dead in his tracks as he bit his lip, quivering in fear.
The clearing was far too big for his blood sense to encompass, but he knew reinforcements, more Nightmare Creatures, were on their way with feverish hunger.
His mother didn't miss the opportunity to mock him.
"You failed, again. How can you lose to a waddling corpse in a foot race?"
As the wretched abomination exited the shade of death, Michael scowled and tried his best to focus, crimson trailing down his pierced lips.
It hurt, it hurt so much, but so did the rest of his body.
The corpses in the tunnel really did a number on him, and he still hadn't found a beast to consume to heal any of his wounds. He could've feasted on the corpses, but he would never stoop that low.
If he feasted on a human, Nightmare Creature or not, Michael would be no better than the abominations... than the monsters.
If there was one thing Michael hated most, it would be monsters, and he never wanted to become one - no, he will never become one. Michael never wanted to kill another human, and feasting on them was no different.
He knew these creatures were probably just pretending to be human, but were they? That's what he assumed with his wife and the inhabitants of Oneiro, but they were all real people.
Even so, Michael could never bear the weight of doing such a vile, filthy action.
Was this figure before him a person? Did they once dream? Did they once laugh and cry?
It didn't matter, because right now, it was a monster. And Michael despised monsters.
From the corner of his sight he discerned several beacons of light shining above the mausoleums and headstones, slowly growing closer and closer.
'There isn't much time left.'
Michael swallowed his fear, the feeling stuck in his throat. He imbued [Wolf's Wrath] with the effects of [Sweet Nectar], giving the curved blade an unquenchable, beastly hunger. Michael flipped it into a reverse grip and launched off the bloody mud with daunting speed.
His lowered body swiftly shot up with incredible force like a spring, aiming to split the figure's head in two. The abomination managed to quickly lean back, the blade just barely tearing the shroud's stitched fabric. Michael didn't stop there as he curled his free hand into a punch and launched it. At the same time, Michael switched to a hammer grip and swung downwards.
It was a risky maneuver, especially considering he had no skills with a weapon. Michael could have easily fumbled his grasp and dropped the weapon, but he managed.
The cloaked figure clumsily blocked the descending dagger with their scythe, the splintered wood cracking under the pressure. Michael's devastating punch landed into the abomination's gut without resistance, actually pushing back the beast a bit.
However, the strike was a little too easy.
Michael was blinded as an incandescent torch blocked his visor, some of the scorching embers finding their way into his helm and burning his skin. His dagger was immediately pushed off, leaving him wide open for a strike.
The figure twisted their frail body with the scythe in hand, stepping back as they swung widely. But, just as the stained blade would become wet with more blood, Michael unexpectedly stepped forward, the blade giving his body a wide berth. He didn't need sight to see.
Battered wood slammed cold steel, shattering into countless shards of splinters. Michael wasn't physically hurt from the attack, but the pain of a Nightmare Creature probably above his Rank hitting him was still immense. He was mildly surprised to see his armor get some scratches, but nevertheless, it held and would repair soon.
As the monster reeled back, Michael rammed into its waist. He wrapped his arms and lifted the abomination off the ground before slamming it into the floor, blemishing his mantle in mud. Michael mounted the grounded figure and brutally slammed his fists down, the spiked gauntlets relishing in the wet splatter of tarnished crimson. His fists were heavy and deceptively sharp, while also being staggeringly blunt.
Michael continued his furious rampage of relentless strikes, the abomination still swinging the torch with desperation.
What fueled monsters? Was it hope? Was it hunger? Was it hatred?
[You have slain an Awakened Monster: Wretched Gravekeeper.]
[You have received a Memory: Pale Imitation.]
Or did they crave death?
Michael didn't know. As of right now, he couldn't care less. This wasn't the time to be caught up in thoughts.
He still had monsters to slay.
The figure clad in blackened steel armor stood up with gauntlets stained in fresh crimson. The corpse at his feet was beaten to a pulp, yellow ooze mixing with its vile blood dripping out of the torn shroud. Beneath that mask was a face, that of a human, one barely recognizable.
Michael stepped over the body and looked into the distance as he saw several cloaked figures emerge from the misty alleys, hungry with their sinister scythes and wailing torches.
'Nah... not running yet.'
There were no beasts, just... humans, but that was fine. Some broken bones won't kill him. He'll just have to hunt later.
But the pain? Well... it would be like a drop in the ocean right about now. Michael's mind was exhausted, and his body was pulsing with agony. He suffered every second, gritting his teeth just so he didn't scream.
Beneath the mantle, his body was trembling from the torment, one that had no end in sight. His muscles uncontrollably contracted at times, while his bones felt like they were at their breaking point, just a gentle kiss away from snapping.
Michael's skin was unbearably sensitive, incessantly scraping against his mantle's inner layer of leather. His fingers and feet were constantly damp with sweat, causing an irritating and painful tingling only made worse by his Flaw.
Everything sucked so much, all he wanted was sleep. He was so tired.
'I don't... I can't sleep.'
Michael pushed himself off the bloody mud and ran at the closest abomination. He ducked under a horizontal swing, but before he could plant his dagger in the creature's face, another scythe crashed against him, sending him flying.
His Dormant mantle groaned at the Awakened attack as he rolled in the mud, stumbling onto his feet as his inertia just barely saved him from another monster's blade.
Michael grabbed the scythe and pulled it, but the corpse refused to relinquish its clutches. The abomination tried using its torch to daze him, but simply died before it ever had the chance.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster: Wretched Gravekeeper.]
He immediately grabbed the lifeless body of the abomination and strained as he lifted it above his head and threw it at another. Lifting a body like that would've been impossible for his weak frame, but it seemed these corpses were particularly light.
Michael staggered back to dodge a scythe from his side, but before he could capitalize on the open abomination, a blade shimmered against the starlight on the edge of his vision.
He uncomfortably contorted his body to swerve the hit and quickly caught it with his forearm, locking it in place. Gazing at the creature dead in the eyes, Michael pulled his free arm back and put all his weight into a punch. The heavy gauntlet crushed the beast's skull with a visceral, satisfying crunch.
To finish it off, he let go of the scythe and quickly pierced the bloodied shroud with his dagger.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster: Wretched Gravekeeper.]
The recovered gravekeeper from before lunged again, dragging its dirty blade in a vicious arc. Rusted steel tore through Michael's mantle and bit into his chest, leaving a shallow puncture.
They both remained still in a cruel stalemate, Michael comprehending what just happened as the monster wriggled to pull free. Another abomination was quickly approaching.
'I need... to hurry up.'
With a grunt, Michael twisted his body and pulled his dagger back, tensing his muscles like taut, steel wire. He flung the serrated blade forward like a human sling, the metal blurring in his vision as it hurtled towards the oncoming beast. Not bothering to see the dagger part the hood like splitting open rotten fruit, he seized the struggling gravekeeper between his steel gauntlets sticky with blood.
He squeezed with all his might, but the bone was simply too resilient, so he clenched harder.
The creature writhed, wildly swinging its torch as it gargled incoherent groans. Michael bore down on its skull, resolving through the mental torture.
He was too weak. He was causing them pain. Why couldn't he just be a little stronger? Why did he have to be so pitiful?
"Can you imagine the pain of getting your skull crushed by someone so weak as you? How unfortunate this lost soul was to cross paths with you."
'Shut up... just don't think about it.'
Seconds crawled by before he heard the snap, blood and bone bathing his shaking arms and unfeeling helm.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster: Wretched Gravekeeper.]