Overwhelmed

“Tch,” Derrick cursed, looking at the two boulders which wrecked the spinning wires. “I did not consider this.”

The goblins noticed the gap instantly, climbing over the boulders with shrill screeches of insanity.

“I’ll have to reinforce my wires with either plasma so that they can cut through rock, or add in high frequency oscillation—”

Voidborn leapt forward to one of the breach points, sword drawn, slicing enemies in half.

“Shut up and stop them already,” Rei grumbled. “Who cares if we’re dead.”

“I need help with the other breach point,” Voidborn said, plunging his sword straight downwards through a charging goblin’s spine. “I can’t be at two places at once.”

“I got it,” Derrick said, summoning his Tear units again.

This time, they pooled right in front of the other breach point, focusing their blue beams at the goblins climbing over the boulder.

“Incoming!” Jimin shouted.

Three boulders flew through the air.

Rei raised her hands and stretched her palms outwards. Her tome glowed red. Three orbs condensed above her and morphed.

“Burst Nails.”

The nails shot towards each incoming boulder, sharp ends piercing into the hard rock. The moment Rei clenched her fist—

Boom.

Each of the boulders exploded and burst into powder, scattering over the goblin horde like ash.

Enraged that their attack failed, the bugbears roared in dissatisfaction. They ran to nearby rocks and dug them up, throwing more boulders towards Derrick’s gadgets.

Explosions filled the air as Rei sent detonating nails one after another, intercepting the incoming aerial assault.

Sweat beaded out of her forehead. The glow in her tome was dimming and her lips were growing pale.

The rock barrage was taking its toll on her.

“Shit—is this never going to end?”

Derrick collapsed to the ground, barely supporting himself upwards as he kneeled on his knee. He was giving it his all trying to maintain the defensive line, and his mental energy was not limitless.

Voidborn looked at the other two.

He grabbed a short sword from the ground and charged forward, slicing goblins with his two blades. Jumping up high, he leapt over the boulder and landed right in the horde.

He began to dice.

Seeing a target appear in their midst, the goblins turned their attention to Voidborn and rushed towards him, temporarily abandoning their advance.

“Fuck—Voidborn!” Derrick shouted. “Get back in here!”

“Kill the bugbears,” Voidborn shouted calmly, swinging his two swords like a human dicer, slicing off seven goblins’ head with a spinning slash.

“And protect Lady Yoo.”

“Derrick! Save him!” Jimin exclaimed, biting her lower lip with panic.

Derrick looked at Voidborn and frowned.

With trembling hands, he stretched his palms outwards and clenched his fist, before pulling towards his chest.

Apart from the two damaged pillars, the rest of Slice n’ Shred were dragged towards Gunrage, condensing the defensive line inwards.

The breaches were fixed.

But Voidborn was left in the chaos.

A huge ripping sound was heard at the back.

The web of electricity flickered, and a few blue lines disappeared.

One of the bugbears had tore out a tree with Derrick’s metal rod embedded into it, snapping the wires that connected to the other rods.

“They’re so fucking irritating,” Rei grumbled.

The bugbear raised the tree and readied its aim, targeting the metal rod stuck in the ground to its right.

Then—

Its head disappeared.

“Flame Hammer.”

Rei muttered, a page tearing off her tome, turning into dust.

A red blunt weapon had smashed the bugbear’s head into nothingness, disappearing into thin air as its lifeless body fell to the ground, crushing several goblins to pulp along with it.

“Flame Hammer.”

Another giant red hammer appeared before the other bugbear, swinging towards its chest.

With a loud explosion, a gaping hole was blasted through its upper torso, obliterating its heart and lungs into blackened tar.

The body fell to the ground, leaving a gigantic hole in the centre that had no blood flowing out. All the flesh and blood vessels around the the circle’s circumference were seared and cauterised.

Rei fell backwards, landing on her bottom.

“I-I only have enough mental energy for one more,” she panted, her hands trembling and shaking uncontrollably. “A-Any more and my Flaw will t-transform me.”

“S-shit,” Jimin cursed, crouching beside Rei, offering her body for support. “I don’t have any potions that recovers mental energy!”

“We’re almost there!” Derrick shouted. “The horde is thinning!”

His words fell on Voidborn’s deaf ears.

He had no chance to be distracted. His pupils darted around, reading and anticipating attacks from every corner.

Rei said she would take care of the bugbear.
He let her do it.

So he slashed.

Derrick said he would protect Jimin.
He let him do it.

So he stabbed.

They said they would do their job.

He would do his job.

So he kicked.
Punched.
Swung.
And he carved a path through flesh and bone.

“Flame Hammer.”

The page in Rei’s tome floated up and flashed red, and a hammer appeared above the last bugbear’s head.

In its arms was another boulder, getting ready to hurl it towards Gunrage.

“Die, you bastard.”

Rei waved her hand.

The hammer came crashing down.

Then—

Vines erupted from the bugbear’s side, twirling around its leg. With a hard tug, its large body was yanked to the side.

The hammer smashed the air that the beast’s head had just been.

She missed.

Or rather, it made her missed.

The shaman standing far behind sniggered.

The hammer continued its course of action and crashed into the empty ground, exploding with a deafening boom.

A crater the size of a swimming pool instantly appeared.

“F-Fuck—” Rei wheezed, gasping for air as her torn page disintegrated. “T-that was my last attack. My mind can’t take any more.”

“D-Derrick.”

“I know.”

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. The electrical web disappeared, the metal rods dissolving back into the ground.

He reached into his pocked and took out five cubes.

Bomb.

Derrick threw them over the spinning shredders, and they morphed into the spider-like bots.

“Voidborn!” Derrick shouted. “I’ll take care of the last bugbear! You clear the rest!”

Voidborn nodded, snapping the neck of a goblin with a roundhouse kick.

He jumped backwards and took a scan.

About two hundred over goblins left.

He could do it.

As if to give him a final breather, every goblin stopped charging.

Two hundred over pairs of eyes stared at him. Some licked their serrated daggers, others drank the blood dripping from their short sword.

Cackling laughter pierced through the air from the back.

“Shut the fuck up, you ugly piece of shit.”

Derrick pointed his finger at the bugbear and five missiles screamed through the sky, all flying towards the bugbear.

The shaman raised the staff in its hand and stabbed it into the ground.

In that instant, thick vines erupted from beneath the bugbear once again, coiling around its legs.

“Oh don’t even think of dodging this one,” Derrick smirked. “They’re homing.”

However, as if the shaman understood him, the vines continued to surge upwards.

There was no pulling of bugbear.

The vines coiled around the bugbear like snakes, wrapping and covering every inch of its body.

Boom.

The five missiles struck the bug bear squarely in the chest, sending a deafening explosion across the woods. A blast of air surged out from the impact point, pushing goblins, humans and even trees off balance.

Smoke filled the air, and red hot flames could be seen eating away at the large figure, its body standing motionless behind the veil of black dust.

“Burn to a crisp,” Derrick smiled. “Get fuc—”

A loud roar bellowed into the air.

The sillouhette behind the smoke moved, raising its leg as it marched forward.

The moment it surfaced, the group swallowed their saliva.

It was unharmed. The vines around its body was blasted to char, the blackened bits falling to the ground. Then, as if to drive the point of its resilience, more vines creeped out from the ground, replacing the damaged ones in a flash.

It was a living armour.

“Derrick,” Voidborn said, looking back at him. “Retract your slicers. They won’t charge anymore until I’m dead. You focus on the bugbear with Bomb and keep it busy. I’ll help you after I finish the rest of the goblins.”

Without waiting for an answer, Voidborn dashed forward.

“S-shit—okay!”

The whirring stopped and the metal pillars dissolved into the ground. Scattering five more Bomb units, he launched another assault of missiles at the bugbear.

He could not finish it off, but at least he could stall.

Watching the human male charging towards them, the shaman screeched and pointed its staff forward.

The remaining goblins surged at him like rats.

Voidborn ran into the wave.

Right slash.
A goblin dropped before the motion finished.

Left swing.
Another headless body hit the ground.

Step forward.
Downward cut.

Sever. Blood sprayed.

Impact. Bones crunched.

Something hit his back thigh.
A backwards slash answered it.

Right uppercut.
A goblin is launched into the air, teeth flying everywhere.

Crash down.
He crushed his sword guard into a goblin’s skull.

Another.

Another.

And another.

Two hundred halved.

A spear pierced his shoulder.
He ignored and answered with a rising slash.

A dagger scraped his ribs.
He ignored that too.

Explosions continued to bombard around Voidborn, but he didn’t care as long as the bugbear didn’t interfere with him.

The hundred halved again, but Voidborn’s blood was everywhere.

Deep gashes streaked across his back. Serrated daggers dug into his shoulders and thighs. Bruises bloomed around his skin from club swings he failed to parry.

Goblins clung to his arms.

Spears pinned his movement.

Bodies piled onto him, pressing him down.

And yet the invisible sword still tried to carve.

“Fuck, why won’t it die!” Derrick shouted. “I’m out of ammo!”

Fifty became thirty eight.

A full slash.
Interrupted.
Thirty five instead of thirty two.

A sweeping hook.
Thirty four.

A swinging cleave.
Stopped by three spears, only killing one.
Thirty three.

Thirty two.

Thirty one.

Thirty one.

Thirty one.

Rei cried to Derrick for help.

Goblins formed a meat pile around Voidborn.

Derrick ran into Gunrage.

A machine gun.
An RPG.
A pistol.

Anything.

Anything that could kill that damned thing.

Green replaced Voidborn.

The shaman grinned in victory.

The bugbear stomped forward, vines regrowing over its exposed skin.

It raised its club.

“No!” Chaewon and Rei screamed.

Voidborn grunted in pain.

He gasped for air.

His vision was blurring from the blood loss.

Jimin stepped forward.

And something inside her finally broke.

The world screamed.

Not through sound.

Not through vibration.

Through grief.

Black mist erupted around Voidborn.

Frenzied yellow disappeared.

In their place came darkness.

And crying.

One goblin dropped its dagger.

Another collapsed to its knees.

A third clutched its chest and wailed as if its heart had been ripped from its body.

The bugbear let out a confused whimper, sinking onto both knees.

Its club fell from numb fingers and landed beside with a dull thud.

Then it cried.

Loudly.

Pathetically.

“What…” Chaewon whispered, eyes wide.

Derrick clicked his tongue.

Rei sighed.

Every goblin.

Every bugbear.

Every monster.

Even that damned shaman.

Crying.

No longer fighting.

No longer thinking.

They could only grieve.

Voidborn stood amongst them, sword dripping blood.

He looked at Jimin.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

A smile was stretched across her face.

It was not one of happiness.

Nor joy.

It was something that looked as though she was crying and laughing at the same time.

She looked at him in sadness while smiling.

She nodded.

Voidborn understood.

He raised his sword.

INFOGRAPHIC