"Awesome! I look like a monster!" Pete grinned, dripping in gore from head to toe, finally looking like himself again.

  The Harbinger looked pissed. Its bloated, pocked face contorted into something that looked like surprise. It clearly hadn’t expected them to take out the human eels so quickly.

  “That was… a weird dream,” Betty said, now sitting right in the middle of the group. Joe glanced at her, wondering what she’d been doing all this time, but he could guess.

  The Harbinger must’ve struck her with that weird psychic blast thing as soon as they entered—she was the highest level among them after all. Although, he couldn’t imagine the Harbinger had expected to waste time trying to seduce a car. Let alone one as maniacal as Betty.

  The creature let out a grating shriek as it dragged the sound up from its bile-filled guts. Then, with another gesture, it summoned more human eels, bursting from the dark water around the cave.

  “Alright, new plan,” Joe said. “Me, Betty, and Levi will clear a path for you, Pete. You get in close and plant one of your paper bombs—heck, plant all of them—right up on that ledge so we can bring it down on this thing.”

  Joe turned to Levi, who gave a small shrug. “Better than nothing. Let’s give it a go.”

  “Oh, and try to dodge whatever hit Pete and Betty. Otherwise, you’ll probably end up unconscious,” Joe added as he moved to help Levi clear the way.

  Ahead of them, four more human eels crawled out of the water, dragging their bodies forward. Joe could see the viscous slime covering them, almost like brine rather than water. Another group writhed toward them from the opposite side, clearly trying to cut off both paths.

  Levi spun his revolver, while Joe tightened his grip on his scythe. Betty let out a defiant honk, rolling past them with a burst of confidence.

  The four eels in front of her didn’t stand a chance. If she could build up enough speed—they’d be roadkill in seconds. She revved her engine and prepared to speed up, like a bowling ball about to take out the pins. But before she could launch, something struck her side. Joe saw it this time, another blast from the Harbinger, this one even stronger than before.

  The force tipped her sideways, slamming her against the cavern wall, where she wobbled precariously, stuck on two wheels. Her headlights flickered out, and her driver’s side window lay shattered, the mirror hanging by a thread.

  “Betty! No!” Joe shouted as the Harbinger’s laughter echoed through the cave. It must not care that she’s a car, it must just be going for the highest level. If Betty could come around before, she could do it again, so Joe swallowed his concern and continued ahead.

  "We have to clear a path and distract it," Joe said. "Let's move."

  Levi stepped forward and fired, his shots exploding two of the eels’ heads in quick succession. That gun of his packed a punch, but as it let out a puff of steam, it seemed to need a moment to cool down.

  Joe ran ahead, hacking at another eel. His slashes were rough, his form clumsy, but these creatures weren’t exactly hard to hit. He started to catch onto their movements, anticipating their lurches. One of them darted in and snapped at his feet, nicking the tip of his shoe. Damn, those teeth were sharp! Clenching his jaw, Joe finished it off with a stomp.

  Achievement Unlocked: Free the seduced. 500XP gained.

  Behind him, Pete crouched, trying to keep out of sight, as if hoping the eels—and the Harbinger—might overlook him. The Harbinger just watched, seemingly amused by its minions’ assault. If it could unleash more of those psychic blasts, it probably would have done so already, Joe figured. Maybe it needed time to recharge like Levi’s gun. This was their chance, the best window they’d get before another blast hit.

  Joe left the last eel to Levi and jumped past it, sprinting around to the far side, aiming to draw the Harbinger's focus. He smashed his scythe against the cave wall, sparks flaring as he shouted taunts. The creature finally turned toward him.

  Gods, it was fat. Joe could see the thing wrapped up on the floor as well, it looked as if it was a mummified human, like the one’s you’d find in ancient Egypt.

  It pointed a stubby, grotesque hand in Joe’s direction, and another eel leapt from the water to intercept him. But something unexpected happened. An eel, seemingly confused, flopped onto the Harbinger's ledge instead. The Harbinger, caught off guard, tried to swat it away, but its short arms flailed uselessly.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The eel lunged, sinking its teeth into the Harbinger’s flesh. The monster let out a bellowing, primal scream, its voice so intense it pushed Joe back. It managed to scare off the eel but took a minor wound.

  Joe steadied himself, blinking. The eels don’t like the Harbinger. That was something they could use.

  Joe slashed at the eel in front of him, then kicked it hard, sending it splashing back into the water. The Harbinger still staggered, reeling from the bite it had taken from one of its minions. Up ahead, Joe spotted Levi finishing off his eel and moving toward the others on the opposite side.

  Meanwhile, Pete managed to sneak his way around, inching up the ledge undetected. Deciding to press their advantage, Joe circled to the other eels, aiming to trap them between himself and Levi, creating a pincer that might keep the Harbinger distracted even longer.

  With a swift motion, Joe ran up and brought his scythe down, driving it into the back of an eel’s neck. The creature shrieked, whipping around and nearly wrenching the scythe from Joe’s grip.

  He managed to hold on, ripping the blade free. The eel lashed back, this time sinking its teeth into his calf. Pain shot through his leg as he staggered, the sharp bite tearing flesh.

  “Ah, fuck!” Joe yelled, stumbling away from the eel as it lunged, hungry for more. Blood streamed down his leg, soaking through his torn trousers, drenching his sock, and pooling inside his shoe.

  He tried to retreat, but each step faltered, his swings losing their strength as his balance slipped. The eel edged closer, relentless, as he struggled to ward it off. Ahead, Levi had adopted Joe’s stomping technique, smashing down on another eel with wild, determined strikes.

  Joe swung again, this time slashing across both of the eel’s eyes. It let out a shriek and rolled back into the water. Thank God.

  He glanced at the Harbinger—only to realise, with a jolt of panic, that it was staring straight at Pete. And Pete, oblivious amidst the chaos, seemed focused on rummaging through his inventory up on the rocks, just before the ledge.

  Joe’s eyes flicked back to the Harbinger’s leathery back, where a faint red glow pulsed beneath the skin, throbbing brighter with each second. From the back, it was obvious—whatever energy it was gathering, it was about to unleash it straight at Pete.

  “Shit,” Joe said. “Pete! Look out!” he shouted, but his voice barely registered in the cacophony. Desperation flared through him. He yelled again, louder this time, “Hey! Over here, you fat bastard!” But the Harbinger didn’t budge, its focus locked on Pete, the glow intensifying.

  With no other options, Joe acted on pure instinct. He lifted his scythe above his head, gripping it tight as he drew in a deep, wrath-fuelled breath. He tapped into every ounce of anger, every bit of energy thrumming through his veins, and felt it coil. Its intensity was now burning, making him feel hot. His muscles trembled as he aimed, feeling the surge of power.

  Then he hurled the scythe with all he had.

  The blade sailed through the air, a perfect arc across fifteen, maybe twenty feet, driven by raw force. It struck true, burying itself deep in the Harbinger’s back. Joe brought his head back in surprise, half-disbelieving. Holy shit it worked! He remembered that embarrassing team-building event a few years ago when he couldn’t hit the target with an axe to save his life. But here, in this moment of chaos and desperation, he’d made the throw of a lifetime.

  The Harbinger didn’t scream as Joe expected. Instead, it let out a gargled gasp, as if every ounce of air had been ripped from its lungs in one savage instant. It clawed at its back with stubby arms, desperately trying to reach the scythe lodged between its shoulders, but its bulk made that impossible. It turned, fixing its glowing red eyes directly on Joe. The snarl that followed wasn’t human. The red glow in its eyes pulsed faster, brighter as if charging for one final, devastating strike.

  Joe stood firm, staring straight into its eyes. He didn’t move, didn’t flinch. Not even when he saw the moment the energy built to its peak.

  Then the ledge above the Harbinger detonated.

  The explosion wasn’t just sound and light—it was precision. Bits of jagged, paper-shaped metal burst outward, only to whip back in, carving into the ledge with surgical accuracy. The rock gave way, tumbling down in a crushing cascade. Joe dove to his left as the falling mass slammed into the Harbinger’s head.

  The impact knocked the creature into the water, sending waves crashing toward where Joe had just been standing. He hit the cavern floor, rolled, and scrambled to his feet.

  The jagged tip embedded deep into the rock mound where the creature once sat in vile authority. The Harbinger began flailing in the water, its movements jerky and desperate. Joe watched, stunned, as the human eels swarmed toward their fallen master. They leapt from the water, their needle-sharp teeth latching onto its flesh.

  The Harbinger’s thrashing grew wild and frantic, but the eels tore into it with the frenzy of starving piranhas. The murky water churned with red as the eels stripped its leathery skin in chunks. Joe just stared, willing the eels on, as the Harbinger let out one last gurgled cry, its voice drowned in the chaos of gnashing teeth and splashing water.

  Then it went still.

  The massive form sank beneath the surface, the water clearing just enough for Joe to glimpse the last few eels darting away with scraps of flesh. Bubbles rose lazily to the surface, popping one by one until there was nothing but silence. The Harbinger was dead.

  Joe burst into laughter.

  Achievement Unlocked: Defeat the Harbringer. 2500XP

  Level 6 Unlocked