I charged straight into the sea of vermin.
Slash! Crack!
The world narrowed down to the swing of my blade. Slicing, cleaving, destroying. Rat blood sprayed into the air, mixing with the rainwater, turning the ground even more treacherous. The giant rats lunged with their claws, but they were too slow. Through my eyes, their movements were nothing more than a tedious, slow-motion spectacle.
I kicked a rat that tried to bite my leg. Its body flew backward, smashing against a tree trunk until it burst.
Then, the hissing began.
From behind the trees, hundreds of snakes slithered out. They weren't targeting me; they were after the rats. This forest was a slaughterhouse, a cycle of predator and prey accelerated a thousandfold.
In the dead center of the chaos—the blood, the rain, the hissing, and the squeaking—I stopped.
I reached into my pocket, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter. With blood-soaked hands, I shielded the tiny flame from the storm.
Fwoosh.
I inhaled the tobacco smoke deeply, filling lungs that were choked by the stench of death.
"Haa..."
I stared blankly at the horrific scene unfolding before me. This was dangerous. This was pure madness. But at least out here, I didn't have to think. I only had to kill.
The ground trembled again. Heavier this time.
A giant snake—a cobra—towered over the fallen trees. Its eyes locked onto me.
A new target.
I tossed away my half-smoked cigarette and picked up my discarded spear. The muscles in my arm tensed.
Whoosh!
The spear buried itself squarely in its left eye. The serpent thrashed wildly, its tail pulverizing the surroundings in a frenzy of agony.
I broke into a sprint. I vaulted over the backs of the smaller snakes, using the chaotic swarm as my stepping stones. The cobra threw its jaws wide open.
Liquid?
My instincts screamed. I leaped high into the air, my sword raised. Venom sprayed into the sky, mixing with the rainstorm to create a deadly downpour of acid.
Sring!
The snake's head severed from its body. It fell with a heavy thud.
I ducked, shielding my head with my arms.
Ssss!
My skin blistered. It felt like being burned by lit cigarettes, but all over my body. Hot. Stinging. Searing.
I gritted my teeth. This... this pain was real.
The acid rain subsided. Hundreds of rats and snakes lay dead around me, their bodies melting and smoking. I stood up, trembling. My skin was raw red, peeling in places. My breathing was ragged. My heart pumped blood furiously, firing off signals of pure agony to my brain.
I staggered over to the cobra's severed head.
"Hahaha..."
There was that laugh again. The laugh of someone who had just realized his nerves were still functioning. I yanked my spear out, retrieved the crystal, and walked away.
Every step felt heavy. A fever was already setting in. My body, usually so numb, was now screaming for rest. But I couldn't stop.
I sat down for a moment beneath a reasonably thick canopy of leaves, lighting another cigarette with trembling hands.
"Haa..."
Before the cigarette could burn out, the ground beneath me cracked.
Again?
The ground split open. I fell.
Darkness swallowed me whole.