abnabooks Chapter 40: To The Inn
Chapter 40: To The Inn
Chapter 40: To The Inn"Are we going to fight?" Kiwi asked.
If it were just him, he would’ve already bolted straight for the inn. He believed his escape and evasion skills enough for that. But now, he was part of a group. Bob and Alan were reliable, sure. But Liam? Liam was the problem. He had no combat capabilities, yet he was essential to the plan. They had to keep him safe, at least until they reached the ancient weapon site.
The gorilla pounded the ground with both fists and began digging up another massive chunk of earth, preparing to hurl it at them again.
The centipede was now crawling along the street toward them, its segmented, red-and-black body writhing with every slither. Behind them, monsters began scaling the rooftops, dozens of them.
They were surrounded.
I looked at Bob and Kiwi,
I shook myself out of the feeling and headed toward the stairs. Some steps were missing. I leapt to the last intact step and hurried up to our room, Kiwi following close behind.
When we reached my room, the door was locked. Normally, in a situation like this, we would just kick it down without hesitation. But I hesitated, feeling a strange reluctance to damage what was left of this place. Instead, I reached for the key.
Just as I was unlocking the door, Kiwi’s hand gripped my shoulder. I glanced at him, his eyes were sharp, fixed on the end of the dark hallway. I squinted, trying to make out what he saw.
A low growl echoed, a breathing sound, heavy and menacing. Then, piercing yellow eyes appeared from the darkness. My heart jumped. I fumbled to unlock the door faster.
Suddenly, the growl swelled into a roar. From the shadows, a monstrous figure lunged at us, a bear-like beast, but with a terrifying twist: it had two mouths, layered one inside the other, baring rows of jagged teeth.
Kiwi swung his staff overhead and slammed it into the creature’s face. It stumbled backward, snarling, before leaping again. Kiwi raised his staff just in time to block its savage claws.
"Come on, Alan!" Kiwi shouted, his voice strained as he struggled to block the swipes of a near-500-kilogram beast.
Damn it. I kicked the door open. Sorry, Tania, I’ll pay for this later.
Inside the room, three flying humanoid monsters hovered, creatures with bird-like faces but leathery bat wings, about 1.5 meters tall. They were clawing at my bag, the one holding the powerstone, fighting viciously over it.
"Hey!" I immediately summoned Indra and swung at the winged fiends. They took to the air, trying to scratch me with razor-sharp talons. I blocked the attack with my gunblade, but one of the monsters suddenly snatched the weapon from my grasp and soared away with it.
"Damn flying pests!" I cursed. I summoned Indra back. Instantly, it vanished from the creature’s claws, leaving it confused. I fired a precise shot at that bird-monster, hitting its chest. It crashed onto the floor and slipped over the edge of the collapsed wall, tumbling down below.
The other two monsters stared, momentarily stunned. Seizing the chance, one grabbed the bag and tried to escape.
"Not so fast, birdie."
Bang! Bang!
I fired two quick shots, one hit a wing, tearing it open, while the other landed clean on a bird-thing’s head. Instant kill. The bag slipped from its claws and tumbled to the ground outside the ruined inn.
Without hesitation, I jumped down from the broken second floor and landed hard, snatching the bag up from the rubble.
Bob was sitting on a rock nearby, chugging water like he just crossed a desert. Liam stood alert at the inn’s front entrance.
"You got it?" Bob asked between gulps.
I lifted the bag in response. "Got it."
"Where’s Mr. Kiwi?" Liam asked, looking around.
Oh god.I completely forgot about Kiwi.
Just as panic started to kick in, Kiwi emerged from the busted front door and landed lightly on the street. He dusted off his coat like he’d just stepped out of a dusty cupboard.
"Where’s the bear?" I asked, remembering he was wrestling with that freakish two-mouthed beast last I saw.
"Dead," he replied casually.
Wow. This guy... he’s on another level. Before I asked more how he did it...
"Let’s move," he ordered, immediately taking off at a sprint.
Liam followed. Then me.
As I passed Bob, I gave his shoulder a tap. He let out a long, exhausted sigh, tilting his head to the sky.
"Urghh... do we have to run again?" he groaned, slowly getting to his feet.
He jogged after us with the grace of a man dying inside. At this rate, if he keeps this up for a month, he surely became slimmer.