"Damn it!!!" Beads of sweat dripped down Ansel's face. His breathing grew harsh as he stood at the front entrance of the tavern. The ground was littered with dismembered skeletons, along with a few who had yet to get cut down. Although his stamina was wearing thin, he had yet to take a single hit from the skeletons that recklessly charged at him. The only thing that hit him was the ebon ooze that hissed upon contact with his body. Crimson veins stretched out from his body as an unconscious defense to stop the corrosive matter from damaging him.
He firmly held the silver dagger as another skeleton group charged at him. They helplessly threw themselves at the man who evaded all of their attacks and sliced them till they were nothing left but a torso. The dagger emitted a soft silver glint with each swing. Each time the dagger hit a skeleton, he could not feel any resistance, though each time he slashed, he felt his energy get sapped from him increasing so.
While he was able to keep them at bay, he was growing wary of having to rely on the AA he retrieved from a dead man. Ansel was not trained in weapon combat and preferred martial arts. Seeing how resilient his opponents were, using a weapon to end this as quickly as possible would be the best outcome. However, as with everything in his life, he would not be so lucky as to end this as soon as possible. Each time he slew a skeleton, their bodies morphed into a disturbing black mass that resembled a human heart. The masses emitted a gut-wrenching smell that made Ansel regret his choice to forge a contract with his Omen more than usual.
Only a few skeletons remained, and Ansel felt his arm weaken. The nauseating smell of the black masses and their synchronized beatings gave Ansel a sense of dread. For something like give him trouble, Ansel could not help but let out a despairing chuckle as he gripped the dagger tightly to the point that he was bleeding from his hand.
"Who are you…. WHO ARE YOU!!!!"
A strangely vocal skeleton charged at Ansel with a rusty blade. Ansel clashed with the skeleton by blocking its attack with his dagger. Ansel could not hide the shock from his face as he witnessed his blade finally get stopped. Another skeleton charged from behind with a broken knife and stabbed him in the back. As the pain shot through his body, he reflexly kicked back with all of his might, shattering the skeleton's torso. The skeleton morphed into a black mass almost immediately. The first skeleton tried to step back, but Ansel was much faster and grabbed it by the neck and slammed it into the ground. He then rapidly punched its skull until nothing remained but dust.
Breathing heavily, Ansel stood there as the final skeletons morphed into the black mass. He looked at the dagger that he used throughout the fight. Its color was dull and had no remnant of its silver hue. A gentle wind blew through the area. It was a wind that Ansel was familiar with, as it had no natural origin and was created as a byproduct of a person he cherishes the most in this world. That wind carried a scent that made his blood boil.
"Stupid idiot!" Ansel shouted as he tried to stand up. He fell back onto the ground as his legs gave out. The dagger he has been fighting withstood too much energy from him. He slammed his fist into the black mass before him. A sharp pain filled his body as the crimson veins he hated so much swarmed his arm. His arm felt light. "Both of you are absolute idiots!!!" Ansel pulled his arm out and punched it again, and again, and again. He kept punching till the thing before him was reduced to nothing but a mushy pile of flesh.
(Keep calm, you damn fool!) Ansel felt his body shuttered from the sudden voice. He looked down at his arm. His flesh was charred, and the crimson veins were turning an ebon purple. Ansel knew his Omen was trying to pull him back, but his bitter rage could not be simply stopped. (Lossing yourself here won't do us any favors. Besides, there's no guarantee that she's dead yet.)
No guarantee? Ansel bit his lip at that comment. While what the Omen says is true might be true, Ansel had a hard time believing anything otherwise. He had killed too many people in his life. Each time, he got used to how much blood one can lose before one's body gives up. Monika had lost too much blood…even if she was still alive at this very moment, she would bleed out very soon.
(You're not convinced that she'll live, are you? Is that how little faith you had in her?)
"Shut up!" Ansel shouted as he dashed towards another mass and punched it. Each blow sent a wave of pain through his body. It did not bother him much as he relentlessly punched and punched until it was destroyed. The pain he felt in his hands was much better than the pain he felt in his chest. "You think I don't have faith in her? I have the most faith in her than anyone else in this world… that's why I know she won't make it. She's up against him, of all people. That fucker lost control and is crying out for help. Monika is not strong enough to answer that call."
(Are you sure it's him?) Ansel felt a reluctant tone in his Omen's voice for the first time.
Ansel quickly moved to the next one. "Yeah, there's no one else who can use both OA Deadman's wish and AA Dead Memories simultaneously with such perfect skill. While he rarely used his OA as he preferred to control his corpses himself on missions, I can tell it's his weapon. Which leaves the question, how did he lose control?" Ansel slammed his fist into the mass, forcing a shockwave that burst it open, scattering the ebon ooze everywhere.
(We Omen have the ability to control you humans through the openings in your hearts and soul. The city itself is a breeding ground for us Omen because of the living conditions in which you Cursed humans are forced to live. Ansel, hurry up here and move to dispatch him. He isn't the first one you've called a friend that you have to kill.)
The Omen spoke to him in an anxious tone. Something about this situation was not normal. You would have to be a fool to be blind to how the City of Pandora was set up, but Lorick was more resilient than most Cursed humans that Ansel had met. He was one of the first people he had met who took the city's challenges and turned them into a means to challenge himself to climb to the top. Seeing him lose control of himself felt like a nightmare. Though there was a small glimmer of hope, the air was free of human blood, besides for two, Monika and a scent familiar to Ashley's. That alone meant that Lorick was out there, fighting to resist control. Ansel knew that he could last much longer.
(You are out of time.) The voice said as the remaining black masses began to hatch. Each one let out a skeleton whose appearance differed significantly from before. Their bones were covered in muscle-like tissue that glistened from the town's flames.
Ansel dashed towards the one still crawling out of the black mass and punched it. The skeleton took the punch and retaliated with a heavy swing of its own. It moved just as fast as Ansel. As its fist hit Ansel, Ansel felt a shockwave of pain rattling his brain, sending him flying backward toward the tavern wall.
He busted through the walls and landed just before Cypress, who sat in a yellow puddle. Ansel turned to his side in a daze. He locked eyes with another skeleton; no, this tall man was dressed in a tattered cloak. It looked down at Ansel with disinterest as it aimed its blade toward the coward of a man behind him.
"H-h-help me!!!" Cypress's voice quivered as he tried to get Ansel to help him.
"Not my problem," Ansel muttered defiantly. He sprang up and dusted off his clothes. A distinct look of irritation filled his face as he dashed toward the skeleton that punched him through the wall. The skeleton expected his attack and tried to block it. However, Ansel changed his attack at the last second and hit him with a kick that shot him into the air. Ansel jumped off the wall and spiked the airborne skeleton into the ground. It exploded into a pile of ebon ooze before morphing back into a black mass. "You have got to be kidding me." Ansel wiped the sweat off his brow. "This is one hell of a lucky streak for me." Ansel pulled out the silver dagger and flashed the newly evolved skeletons a crooked smile. "Monika…I will come to you…I swear I won't let you die."