It was the dead of night as the city continued to blaze from the chaos of the apocalypse. The chorus of roars from different monsters reverberated all across the area, along with the cries of humans fighting back against the creatures that invaded their world.

  Deep within the city, several players scurried down a street, as if they were running from something. And that something was gaining on them quickly.

  “Shit, shit!” One of the players swore, forcing his legs to move as fast as they could despite the muscle pains that ached his limbs.

  “Go down one of the alleys!” Another player shouted. “We’ll be able to lose it there!”

  The group of players hastily took a left, sprinting down the closest back alley they could find, desperately trying to escape whatever was after them. Behind them, a large beastly shadow could be seen as it blurred toward the players with malicious intent. It vigorously tailed the players, determined to catch them, like it was playing a game of cat and mouse.

  The fearful players ran down the alley, occasionally looking behind them to see if whatever was after them was still there. And sure enough, it was. One of them spotted two glowing yellow eyes that maliciously glared at the group, viewing them as nothing more than prey.

  “I-it’s still after us, man!”

  “Just keep running, you idiot! Unless you want to get torn to shreds like the others!”

  They continued to flee, hoping that they could escape whatever was chasing them, but were soon met with a horrible fate.

  “N-no…why is there a wall here dammit?!”

  Instead of continuing down the alley until they reached another street in the city, their path was unfortunately obstructed by a large brick wall that stood well over ten feet, towering over the group of players with its looming presence. The players stopped in their tracks while looking terrified by the sight.

  Not because there was a wall, but because the wall was blocking them from escaping a horrific creature.

  One of the players scanned the wall, attempting to figure out a way over it.

  “D-dammit…” The player spun his head around, directing his attention to another member. “Peter, bash this wall down now!”

  Peter was a Brawler Class that possessed enough strength to break down the brick wall before them. And their best shot at getting out of the alleyway as fast as possible. Following his boss’s command, Peter went over to punch the brick wall.

  Just then, a scream came from the back of the group, pulling Peter’s attention away from his task as he and the other players turned around to see who it was, only for their faces to turn pale in unison at the terrible sight laid before them.

  One of the players in the back was currently being lifted in the air by the shadowy figure lurking in the darkness. Five claws were drilling through his guts, causing blood to spill all over the ground with a wet and gory splash. The player attempted to cry for help, but instead coughed up more blood as his eyes hauntingly stared at the others.

  The players near the wall could only watch with wide eyes filled with horror, witnessing such a gruesome sight. Just then, the lurking shadow’s eyes glowed yellow once more, then opened its mouth and tore into the player, ripping him to shreds as blood and viscera rained down all over the alley.

  The remaining players were frozen with fear, none of them capable of moving, their legs stuck in place while they shook like leaves.

  Once the shadow monster was finished mutilating its prey, its yellow eyes turned to the others, making them flinch in fear. It then emerged from the shadows, revealing its appearance for the players to see in all its horrific glory. And what they saw turned their blood cold.

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  It was a werewolf. It stood over eight feet tall, its body covered in grayish black fur from head to toe, and bore the appearance of a humanoid wolf with a long deadly muzzle that revealed sharps teeth inside, just waiting to rip into another player.

  The werewolf glared at the players; its yellow eyes gleaming with malice. It then let out a fierce growl and moved closer toward its next prey.

  The leading player managed to collect himself enough to hastily pull out his weapon, which was a sword. “We need to keep this bastard busy! Peter, bash the wall down now!”

  “R-right…!”

  Peter quickly turned his back toward the werewolf, pulling his gauntleted fists back so he could break the wall, so he and the others could escape.

  “Attack!”

  Responding to the command, the rest of the players charged at the werewolf, praying to buy enough time so Peter could make a path for them to flee. Sadly, that was their worst mistake.

  As soon as one of the players got close to the beastly Lycan, it slashed its razor claws at him, easily tearing through his torso and splitting him in half. His lower and upper half fell to the ground as his insides spilled out from the freshly made entrance in his torso, freeing them from the bindings of his flesh.

  Another player attempted to attack the monster, swinging his battleaxe at it, only for the Lycan to easily swat it away with its monstrous hand. The player was pulled away by his momentum, making him vulnerable for the Lycan to close the distance and snap its muzzle around his neck. And with a single chomp, it ripped the player’s throat out, leaving very little of its neck left to the point only bits of flesh and bone were keeping his head attached to his shoulders.

  Blurring past the player whose throat was just ripped out, the Lycan moved on to the next one, raising its clawed hand and slashing it down, tearing another player’s arm off. The delimbed player cried out in agony, his eyes wide at the sight of one of his arms missing while blood spurted from the stump.

  His screams didn’t last long before the Lycan opened its mouth once more and took a bite out of his skull. Instead of devouring the head whole, it only went down to below the eyes and right on the nose before digging its razor-sharp teeth into his head, splitting it in half. The player crumbled while the Lycan chewed its upper skull. Blood trickled down its mouth while making an audible crunch sound, likely from breaking its skull with its jaw.

  There were only two players which were The Boss and Peter. The Boss player continued to stare at the Lycan after it decimated his team, unable to process how easy the fight was to the creature. He still held his sword high while his back was facing Peter.

  “Hurry the hell up, Peter!”

  “I-I got it!”

  The Boss player heard the sound of bricks crumbling, and he immediately turned around to see what it was. His face beamed with joy and relief when he saw a massive hole in the wall, big enough for both players to escape through.

  “Go, go, go!” The boss urged.

  Peter hastily crawled through the hole and emerged on the other side. Seeing this, the Boss dashed for the hole as well, only to be stopped when a sharp pain flared across his leg, causing him to stumble to the floor. When the boss looked down to see what it was, fear was plastered across his face when he saw that his left leg was missing.

  “P-Peter!” The boss turned to his only ally, hoping that he’d come to save him.

  Sadly, Peter took one look at the boss with a pale complexion before turning heel and running away while he could, shocking the boss.

  “Y-you bastard!” The Boss howled in anger.

  He couldn’t believe that one of his people abandoned him. Leaving him to die at the hands of a monster.

  From behind, the boss heard a low growl coming from the Lycan. Turning around, he quivered in fear as the werewolf stood before him, its yellow eyes practically boring a hole in him.

  “P-please spare me…!” Seeing no other option, the boss did the only thing he could do and pleaded for his life.

  The werewolf loomed over The boss, simply glaring at the player, who continued to tremble in terror. The Lycan then opened its muzzle, but instead of preparing to eat the Boss, it did something else. Something very unexpected.

  “W-where…is…she…” The Lycan questioned, its voice low and guttural.

  The boss lay there, confused as to what it was talking about. “W-what do you mean?”

  The Lycan snarled, growing more angry by the moment, to which the Boss player cowered in fear.

  “Where…is Gwen!” The Lycan interrogated with a much clearer but bestial voice. “Where is…MY SISTEEER!”

  The Lycan howled at the sky, its voice echoing throughout the alleyway and beyond.

  The Boss player stammered. “I-I don’t know who that is…! I-I swear…!”

  In response, the werewolf stopped howling and turned its gaze back to its prey. It narrowed its eyes while snarling, signaling the player that he said the wrong thing.

  “P-please, just let me go…”

  The Lycan remained silent and got closer to the Boss. His face grew pale when he realized that it was too late and before he could cry for help, the monster lunged and tore into the player. His screams could be heard as he was ripped to shreds, piece by piece.

  The Lycan then once again howls into the night, its wail signaling a message…and a warning for every living creature out there.