Depthless Hunger

Chapter 101: An Inevitable Revelation

The side of the wall flashed past him faster than Kai had anticipated, and he briefly wondered if he had made a mistake, but the armored monster was already almost in his face. He assumed that its shell could deflect all normal attacks, so he straightened his hand and thrust a claw directly between its jaws.

It pierced deep and the creature let out a hiss, but it only staggered a short distance down the wall. Several of the foremost legs began reaching up, trying to cut into his legs. Before it could reach him, Kai thrust his other hand into the crack between the halves of the shell. Maintaining both at once strained him, but he managed to hold on long enough to swing his arms in opposite directions.

In one movement, the monstrous clam was torn in half.

All its legs went limp at once and he was suddenly plummeting again, almost falling into the fleshy core inside the shell. The mass within was pulsing intensely and the world started to twist. If Kai hadn't just been through a harrowing experience near the pit, it might have overwhelmed him, but now this much was nothing.

Operating on instinct, he reached for the biting skill within and consumed the heart of the monster in a single chomp.

Seconds later they hit the ground, but the lower shell and all the legs blunted the impact. Now he stood at the base of the wall with monsters all around him and no one else in sight. The horde immediately turned to focus on him, but Kai lifted the lower shell and then spun in a circle. His first arc smashed through many of the nearest monsters, then he hurled it into the mass charging toward him.

His instincts were screaming at him to eat the rest of the clam-like monster, but he resisted. Everyone atop the wall was no doubt looking at him now, so he needed to maintain control. Besides, there were too many monsters for him to hesitate even for a moment.

Needing space, Kai experimentally swiped horizontally with one hand. His spiritual claw tore through multiple boars and sent their bodies tumbling into the others. As he fought, he found himself grinning. Ever since his trial, they'd all told him that he could never be a true hunter during an incursion because he lacked the ability to deal enough damage. Now he was fighting the horde at the very forefront of the entire city.

Zae Zin Nim skated down the side of the wall and slid out beside him, killing the monsters in her path with well-placed strikes. He smiled at her, but she only pointed off to the east. Kai realized that the wedge-headed monster was still trying to hammer into the city wall and cursed.

They ran toward it and he was shocked at how the monsters in his way were little more than obstacles. He could kill the vast majority with well-placed claw swipes and any that got through were swiftly put down by Zae Zin Nim. When they reached the large monster, there wasn't any need to discuss it: he went low and she went high.

Kai's claw slashed against the beast's legs and for the first time he felt a monster really resist him. But his blow did open wounds and stagger it, and a second later Zae Zin Nim landed a palm strike against one of its flat sides. The strange beast tumbled end over end, then eventually slid across the wasteland.

Once it lay on its back, it thrashed its injured legs, but didn't seem to be able to get up. They both stared at the fallen monster.

"Deadwaste is so weird." Zae Zin Nim turned away, her lips in a tight line.

"What, you don't have anvil-headed monsters in Cloudspire?"

She didn't answer, just returned to the battle. Kai joined her and they easily formed a dead zone in the middle of the horde. They seemed to have killed the largest monsters in the initial wave, so all they needed to do was make sure that the occasional spider didn't get past them to climb the wall.

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Unlike the impossible battle he'd seen within the Frontier, this one seemed almost slow. Kai had enough time to scan the battlefield and he noted that the monsters not focused on them were still splitting around the city. Defenders were striking them with rocks, arrows, and the occasional Class skill. They were definitely thinning the horde, but significant numbers would still reach the southern gate.

He'd been worried that the monsters would wear him down by attrition, but Kai was surprised at how good he felt. One of the spiders had dealt a minor cut which was already healing, otherwise he was untouched. Using claws too quickly in succession tired him out, but he quickly learned a natural pace and integrated them with normal strikes. Above all, he felt no weariness in his muscles at all. Gomodo's Stamina seemed more than equal to a fight of this level.

After killing the shelled monster, he wanted to try out Isulfr's Bite more often in combat. It still didn't come as easily when he wasn't facing a powerful opponent. He decided not to take unnecessary risks experimenting in a situation like this. Even if he wasn't suffering attrition yet, there would be more dangerous monsters coming.

Something buzzed overhead and Kai looked up just in time to see a giant insect with six blurring wings move overhead. It was already higher than the city wall and would easily pass over the top.

"Hey!" He nudged Zae Zin Nim and pointed toward it. She released a qi attack, but the monster flitted aside in a jerky movement.

That could cause chaos all on its own. There was no way he could jump high enough to reach it, and even if he managed to throw something so far, it would only dodge. Could he possibly climb the city wall and intercept it? The monster was already getting close...

A beam of sapphire mana pierced the monster's body and it exploded into shards.

Tracing the beam back, Kai spotted Rallia Orgoron standing on top of the wall. A bow formed of blue mana glowed in her hands. As he watched, she placed her other hand against it, then formed a new arrow of mana. He'd forgotten about her Class...

Name: Rallia Orgoron

Total Power: 96

Spellbow Class: 34 (44)

Physique Level: F-3 (36)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

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As a Spellbow, Rallia was a significant boost to their defenses. She felt his gaze and waved at him with arrow in hand, but then she drew it back for another shot.

With her providing support from the wall, Kai began to feel like they could win the battle. Any time a more powerful monster appeared, the three of them would work together to kill it off quickly. A significant number of smaller monsters were being destroyed in the process as well. If they kept this up, they could break the majority of the horde at the first point of contact.

The only problem was that he was getting hungrier as the combat went on. He tried to use that to fuel him, indulging further in his monstrous side than ever before. If he fought them like a beast and told himself that he could eat later, he actually became an even more effective fighter. Maybe his animal aggression left a few openings, but Zae Zin Nim and Rallia covered his blind spots.

"East, east!" The shouts from the wall didn't register at first, just more yelling from the defenders. He gradually realized that they were yelling a direction.

When he looked up, he saw that many of them had clustered to one side. To the east he could see a growing cloud of dust. One monster had split from the horde, apparently smart enough to try to take the city from the side instead of following all the others. Kai couldn't see what it was through the dust, but if the defenders were so worried, he should intercept it.

After tossing a few more monsters out of his way, Kai broke free from the main horde and sprinted toward the new beast. As he drew closer, he began to see fur through the dust, then tusks, then beady little eyes...

Kai laughed as he saw that it was a Direboar.

So much had changed since the Hunters Trials, it wasn't even a real fight. Bristles that had deflected all his attacks now tore apart as his claws cut deep. The massive tusks sweeping at him broke with a single blow. Kai met the charging behemoth by slamming his forehead into its massive skull and the monster was the one to fall back.

With a savage grin he set upon it, tearing it to shreds. The hunger took over and he found himself biting down and reveling in the taste. It wasn't just a dead monster, it was a conquered foe that proved how far he'd come. A beast inside himself growled in triumph.

As Kai's human mind returned, he realized what he had done. The worst part of it was, the monster flesh still tasted sweet. He was a ragged mess and covered in blood, but he still felt only triumphant.

Then he looked up to the city walls and realized he had been wrong: the worst part was the fact that everyone had seen him.

As he left behind the bloody rage, Kai understood exactly what they saw. Not a hunter, but a man who was practically a monster himself, covered in the gory remains of a beast. The defenders stared at him silently and he realized that his artificial Class had dissolved when he indulged. Every single person above with spiritual sight now saw him as a monster.