The two scavengers charged through the coral labyrinth toward Apollo, their beady, pitch-black eyes locked onto him with frantic hunger. Their screeches echoed off the jagged reef walls, dissonant and sharp, like rusted blades scraping across stone.
He recognized them instantly.
One moved with speed, slipping through the narrow coral channels with practiced agility. It twisted and wove with serpentine grace—its carapace flashing with streaks of blue in the rising light. The other? A lumbering brute, all mass and momentum, plowing through the coral like a hammer with legs. Splintered reef flew in every direction as the larger one smashed through the maze, unbothered by precision or planning.
"Ahhh, Speedy and Stupid. It's good to see you guys again," Apollo muttered with a wry grin, cracking his neck.
These two were frequent players in the opening act of his regressions. Like old friends showing up to greet him with claws and bloodlust. He almost appreciated the consistency.
Almost.
This time, it seemed they'd come early—how thoughtful.
Stupid's bullheaded sprint cost him speed. As he crashed through a particularly thick branch of crimson coral, he slowed for just a moment. Meanwhile, Speedy, weaving effortlessly, gained a few crucial meters ahead.
Apollo's eyes snapped to a large piece of jagged coral knocked loose from the impact. He caught it mid-spin.
Perfect.
Just as Speedy lunged, Apollo sidestepped, spinning on his heel. With one fluid motion, he jammed the improvised spear straight into the scavenger's eye socket.
Speedy shrieked in pain, staggering back, thick blue ichor spurting from the ruined eye. One claw rose defensively, trembling, attempting to shield the now-blinded side.
Behind him, the heavy thudding of Stupid's arrival shook the muddy floor.
Stupid's massive claw swung like a wrecking ball—clumsy but devastating. Apollo launched himself upward, vaulting off the incoming arm and wrapping his limbs around the creature's upper body. His arms strained as he squeezed tight.
He remembered this tactic well.
Stupid, for all his brute strength, had one fatal flaw: if someone latched onto his upper half, he completely short-circuited. His simple predator brain couldn't figure out whether to swat, throw, or slam. So he just froze for a few seconds.
"Still works, huh?" Apollo muttered, climbing to the top of the carapace. "Never change, buddy."
Then came Speedy again—claw raised, shrieking.
Apollo used Stupid's confusion like a stage prop. Just as the claw descended, he flipped backward, launching himself into the air. Speedy's claw smashed straight into Stupid's face.
A sickening crack echoed as the two collided with bone-crunching force.
They shrieked at each other in outrage, seemingly blaming the other for the blunder. Before becoming quiet, a gaze being shared between the two. They had done this before too, they had decided to work together.
"You're really gonna work with this guy, Speedy?" Apollo taunted as he landed in a low crouch. "Look at him—he's so stupid!"
Speedy darted toward him in a flurry of clicks. Apollo caught the edge of the claw with his wrist, the motion causing intense pain to shoot through his arm. Then, twisting into the momentum, he slammed a fist into Speedy's face. Before Stupid could attack again Apollo rolled away towards the opposite direction.
Apollo stood, brushing dust from his shoulder.
"Stupid. Seriously?" He pointed accusingly at Speedy. "This guy?"
Of course, the nightmare creatures didn't understand a single word. Still, Apollo liked to think the mockery counted for something.
He sighed.
As both scavengers reset and prepared to charge, Apollo raised one hand. His fingers curled into the shape of a gun, index finger outstretched. A tiny mote of light began to form at the tip, condensing rapidly into a bullet-sized bead of pure energy.
With a casual flick of his thumb and a loud bang noise from his mouth, the bullet fired.
It screamed through the air but just before impact, Stupid raised both claws.
Clink!
The bullet ricocheted harmlessly, fizzling into the air.
Stupid lowered his claws with exaggerated smugness, his hunched posture radiating triumph.
That was until he realized the prey was no loner in front of him. Turning, he saw speedy charging toward him, claw raised for attack.
Before the idiot brute could raise his claws again, a sharp crack rang out as Apollo plunged the coral spear straight into the vulnerable seam of Stupid's back carapace.
The blade pierced through with ease.
Stupid froze. Then collapsed.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your soul grows stronger.]
[You have gained a Memory]
Apollo ignored the voice of the spell. Speedy was already on the attack again.
Yanking the makeshift spear from Stupid's corpse, he spun, narrowly dodging a slash in midair. At the same time he felt his connection to Serpent snap back into place—the digestion of the first scavenger was complete.
The golden tattoo on his arm pulsed, and in the blink of an eye, Serpent reformed in his hand, solid and radiant.
Apollo wasted no time.
With Serpent's blade singing through the air, he clashed with Speedy in a blur of movement. A clean slash across one of the hind legs. Another across the claw. The creature shrieked as its limbs crumpled beneath it.
It didn't last long.
When it finally dropped, Apollo drove his blade deep into its chest, ending it.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Carapace Scavenger.]
Serpent twitched in his hand, hungry once more. Apollo fed Stupid's corpse to the serpent and then ripped off two legs from Speedy. He would've taken more, but the body was far too heavy to drag—and other scavengers would be on the way soon.
"Sorry, Speedy. No room in the backpack," he murmured.
With trophies in hand, Apollo sprinted across the reef, leaping back up the coral structure he'd spawned on.
By the time he reached the top, his breath had steadied, and the sunless sky above had grown slightly brighter—a false dawn in this realm.
He laid the scavenger legs down carefully, already thinking of lunch; even nightmares could work up an appetite.
With that thought, Apollo set about starting a fire.
It took nearly forty minutes of coaxing sparks before he finally got a flame going. He used dried seaweed as fuel, the brittle strands catching easily once heat took hold. The smoke curled in thin wisps, faintly salty and sharp.
He placed the two scavenger legs over the fire, propping them carefully above the coals to cook.
As the smell of sizzling meat began to fill the air, he sat back and used the time to refine his plans.
He couldn't afford to stay here much longer.
In just a couple of days, a harrowing creature would arrive in this region—one he'd encountered in a past life. A thing not even he could handle. If he lingered, he'd be torn apart before he had a chance to escape.
His eyes scanned the horizon, searching the coral-strewn landscape for elevation—anything that might hold against the coming tide. At the far edge of his vision, rising like a twisted fang from the seafloor, he spotted it: another massive coral outcrop. That would be tomorrow's destination.
The meat was ready not long after.
He pulled the legs from the fire, cracking them open with practiced ease and scooping out the soft, juicy flesh. It steamed in the cool air. He crushed a bit of dried seaweed into fine dust and sprinkled it over the meat—his version of seasoning.
Then, with a satisfied nod, he took his first bite.
"Mmm... Speedy, you really are the best scavenger," he said, grinning to himself as he chewed.
Not bad, for monster cuisine.