- Luke, run! - Alexander shouted, not taking his eyes off the approaching monster. - Run and don't look back!
- Alex, I can't leave you! - Luke shouted, getting up from the ground and holding his head.
- FUCK, I SAID RUN! - Alexander barked. - Otherwise, we'll both die here.
Moder slowly approached, her every step made the ground tremble. Yellow eyes burned in the deep eye sockets of the deer skull, and massive horns scraped on the air.
- Servant of Satan," she said in a voice similar to the grinding of glaciers. - Your audacity will be punished.
- Fuck you, horned bitch," Alexander replied and released the maximum lightning discharge.
Electricity hit Moder's chest with a dazzling flash. The air was filled with the smell of ozone and burnt flesh. But when the light went out, the monster was still standing on his feet, only slightly staggering.
"Damn it," Alexander thought. "It's like shooting a tank with a slingshot."
Moder waved her paw. Alexander dodged, but the air wave threw him a few meters away. He rolled over and jumped to his feet, using his improved dexterity.
- Your magic is weak, boy, - Moder said mockingly. - I've been there for thousands of years. I saw the birth and death of civilizations.
- And I saw how your fans were turned into minced meat, - Alexander snapped.
He grabbed the spear of one of the killed cultists from the ground and threw it into the monster's head. The spear stuck into the skull with the sound of a split tree, but Moder only annoyingly shook her head, breaking the shaft.
"I need a new strategy," Alexander thought feverishly. - "A direct attack doesn't work. We need to use the environment."
He rushed to the nearest house and hit the supporting beam with a reinforced fist. The tree cracked, and part of the roof collapsed on Moder. Logs and tiles fell on the monster, but he easily shook them off like snow.
- Pathetic attempts, - Moder gnared and rushed into the attack.
Alexander barely had time to bounce off the impact of a massive paw. The claws cut through the air an inch from his face. He rolled to the side and released a series of lightning in the monster's eyes.
Moder roared in pain and went blind for a moment. Alexander took advantage of this - he grabbed a burning torch and threw it into the monster's face. The fire licked the wool around the skull, but quickly went out.
"Nothing works," he realized. "This creature is practically invulnerable."
Moder regained her sight and attacked again. This time Alexander did not have time to dodge completely - the claws were on his shoulder, leaving deep wounds. Blood flowed from the cuts, soaking the shirt.
- The first blood, - Moder said with satisfaction. - Soon there will be the last one.
Alexander rolled back, clamping the wound. Its regeneration has already started to work, but slowly - too deep cuts.
"Think, think," he adjusted himself. - "There must be a way. The devil wouldn't give an impossible task."
He grabbed the cultist's bloody axe from the ground and threw it into Moder's leg. The blade stuck in the ankle, and the monster made the sound of pain for the first time.
- Does it hurt? - Alexander grinned. - So you're not that invulnerable.
But Moder easily pulled out the axe and threw it back. Alexander barely had time to dive to the side - the blade whistled next to his head and stuck in the wall of the house.
- You're just delaying the inevitable, - said Moder, approaching. - Subb fate.
" Never," Alexander roared.
He grabbed another torch and set fire to a pile of straw near the house. The fire quickly flared up, spreading to the wooden walls. Maybe the smoke will blind the monster?
But Moder didn't seem to notice the fire. She continued to walk on him, not paying attention to the tongues of flame licking her hair.
"Fire does not work, lightning is weak, physical attacks are useless," Alexander thought desperately. - "What else is left?"
He tried to use the environment differently. Moder grabbed a heavy stone and threw it at the head. The stone crashed on the skull without causing any harm.
Then he tried to attack his legs - maybe he can knock down the monster? Alexander dived under the blow of his paw and punched Moder's knee. The blow was so strong that it would have broken the bone of an ordinary person, but the monster only staggered.
- Interesting, - Moder said. - You're stronger than you look. But he's not strong enough.
She grabbed Alexander by the throat and lifted him into the air. Fingers squeezed, blocking the breath.
"I can't breathe," Alexander panicked, scratching the monster's paw. "She'll strangle me."
He fired lightning right into the paw holding him. The discharge passed through Moder's body, forcing her to unclench her fingers. Alexander fell to the ground, grabbing the air with his mouth.
The moder took a step back, looking at the burns on her paw:
- Your magic is getting stronger with despair. But that's still not enough.
Alexander got up, staggering. The blood from the wound on the shoulder continued to ooze, the strength melted. But he wasn't going to give up.
"Last chance," he thought. "All or nothing."
He concentrated all his strength, all his rage, all his fear in one powerful category. Lightning broke out of his hands with a dazzling pillar of light, so bright that it became painful to watch.
The discharge hit Moder in the chest, pierced it through. The monster roared in pain and recoiled, but did not fall.
- Not bad, - she said approvingly, looking at the smoking hole in her chest. - But not enough.
The wound on Moder's chest began to tighten before his eyes. After a few seconds, there was no trace of it.
"She's regenerating," Alexander realized with horror. - "Faster than me. Much faster."
His strength left him. His legs squewed, and he fell to his knees. There was no more strength - he squeezed everything out of himself to the last drop.
Moder slowly approached him:
- You fought well, servant of Satan. But the outcome was predetined from the very beginning.
She raised her paw with his claws stretched out and abruptly stuck them into Alexander's chest. The pain was unbearable - the claws pierced the lungs, hurt the heart.
- Argh! - he exhaled blood.
Moder lifted him on his claws like a doll. Blood flowed down the paw, dripping to the ground.
- Your master was a fool, sending you here, - she said. - But you will die with honor. It means something.
Alexander felt life leaving him. But even dying, he wasn't going to show weakness.
- Go... fuck yourself... - he wheezed, spitting blood. - Horned... creature...
"Well," he thought, closing his eyes. - "It's time to find out what the penalty area is. The devil warned that it was fucked up there. But it probably can't be worse than this mission."
And then the sky split.
Literally. A crack appeared above them in the air itself, from which a dazzling white light gushed. Not sunny - different, cold and clean, like a moonlight ray.
- What the... - Moder began, looking up.
Something fell out of the crack. A dark silhouette against the background of light, flying straight to them. Moder instinctively threw Alexander aside and prepared for defense.
The object fell exactly into Alexander's outstretched hand. He felt his fingers tighten around the handle.
Sword.
The blade of this sword had a strange, almost otherworldly appearance. It was wide and massive, with a blade covered with a camouflage pattern of gray and black spots. It seemed as if the steel was woven from shadows and fog. His tip was wide and rounded, more like a cleaver than an elegant sword. The guard was made in the form of a simple cross with thick, chopped ends. The handle, wrapped in dark skin, lay perfectly in the hand. In its whole appearance there was brute force and practicality, as if it was created not for parades, but for a ruthless war. The sword flickered with a ghostly light, as if the prisoners inside were trying to break out.
And he... said.
Not out loud - right in Alexander's head. The voice was ancient, tired, but full of strength:
Blood, master. Give me blood, and I'll give you the death of your enemies.
- What... what is this? - Alexander whispered.
I'm A Space Breaker. A blade that cuts not only flesh, but also reality itself. But I need your blood. This is the only way I can show my true strength.
Alexander didn't hesitate. He ran the blade over his palm, and the blood flowed on the metal. The sword absorbed it, and the gray-black pattern on the blade lit up with red light.
Okay. Now show me who needs to be killed.
Moder looked at this scene with growing anxiety:
- What a weapon... I feel strength equal to mine from him.
- Then let's check, - said Alexander, rising to his feet.
The wounds on his chest were still bleeding, but the adrenaline and the power of the sword allowed him to ignore the pain. He waved the blade, getting used to his weight.
Cut the space, master. Imagine how reality diverges under my blade.
Alexander made a simple horizontal blow in the air. And the air... erupted.
Literally. Where the blade passed, a cut appeared in the very fabric of reality. Through it you could see something dark and empty, like a cosmic abyss.
Moder bounced back:
- Impossible! This is the weapon of the older gods!
- I don't know who the older gods are, - Alexander said. - But I know you'll die.
He rushed to attack. Moder tried to intercept it with its paw, but Alexander simply cut it in half. The sword passed through bone and flesh like through oil.
Moder howled in pain, looking at the cult from which black blood was whipping:
- My flesh can't be cut! I'm immortal!
- She was immortal, - Alexander corrected.
He struck a second blow, aiming at the neck. Moder tried to dodge, but the sword moved faster than thought. The blade entered the monster's neck and... got stuck.
- Fuck you, not an easy victory! - Moder roared and hit Alexander with the remaining paw.
The blow threw him back a few meters, but the sword remained in his hand. But half of Moder's neck was now yawning with an open wound.
She's stronger than she looks," said the sword. "But not stronger than me. Cut again. Don't stop.
Alexander got up and attacked again. This time he was aiming at his legs - if you knock down the monster, it will be easier to finish him off.
The sword passed through Moder's right leg, cutting it from the hip to the ankle. The monster fell to his knees, losing his balance.
- How... how can you own such a weapon? - she wheezed. - You're just a man!
- Not just a person, - Alexander replied. - Servant of the Devil. And your death.
He carried the sword for the final blow, aiming at the head. Moder tried to stop him by grabbing the blade with the remaining paw. But the sword also cut her fingers.
"Goodbye, ancient creature," Alexander said and beheaded Moder with one powerful blow.
The monster's head flew to the side and rolled on the ground. The body collapsed, pouring black blood on the ground.
But that wasn't all.
Get the rest," the sword ordered. "Let no one tell you about what happened here.
Alexander turned to the surviving cultists. They were prostrating, trembling with fear:
- Have mercy! - one of them begged. - We won't serve her anymore!
"It's late," Alexander replied coldly.
He walked around the village, killing everyone. Men, women, even children. The sword cut them like paper, meeting no resistance. Only corpses and burning houses remained a few minutes from the village.
Good job, master, - the sword approved. - Now you know my strength.
Alexander stood among the massacre, breathing heavily. Blood covered him from head to toe - his own and someone else's. The wounds were tightening, the strength was returning.
"It was... easy," he thought. "It's too easy after the nightmare that Moder made."
And then the world around him began to blur. The village, corpses, burning houses - everything dissolved in the fog.
Alexander opened his eyes.
He was standing in the same dark space where he met the Devil. But now he had a sword in his hands - as real as before.
- Congratulations, - a familiar voice sounded.
The devil was sitting in his chair, smiling:
- He did a good job. However, at the very end you had to send help.
- WHAT THE FUCK?! - Alexander exploded. - You almost killed me again! I thought the penalty zone was waiting for me!
- But he didn't kill, - the Devil replied carefreely. - And the penalty area was avoided. So everything is fine.
- NOT GOOD! - Alexander shouted. - I'm not going anywhere else! I've had enough of these missions!
- Oh, come on, - the Devil laughed. - You got a new toy. Not bad, by the way. This sword is rare even in my circles.
Alexander looked at the weapon in his hands. The sword was silent, but he felt his presence in his mind.
- What kind of bullshit is this? - he asked.
- Space Breaker, - the Devil explained. - One of the Blades of the Elders. It's a very powerful thing. It can cut reality, as you have already seen.
- And why did you give it to me?
- And because the next missions will be more difficult, - the Devil grinned. - Much more difficult. You'll need everything you can get.
- I said I wouldn't go anywhere else! - Alexander insisted.
- And the contract says the opposite, - the Devil reminded. - Do you have to remember? You've only passed three, and you're already whining.
Alexander wanted to object, but suddenly he realized something:
- Wait. You said "in my circles". And I also talked about the Elder Gods. What the fuck?
The devil was silent for a moment, and then laughed:
- You're sharp at questions, baby. Yes, there are things you don't know. A lot of things.
- For example?
- For example, the fact that I was also once a human being, - the Devil said casually.
Alexander is fucked by this:
- WHAT?!
- Surprised? - The Devil grinned. - What's so surprising about it? Did you think I was so cool since I was born?
- But... how... when... - Alexander couldn't find words.
- It's been a long time, - the Devil waved his hand. - A long time ago. In a different reality, at a different time. I also started as a mere mortal.
- And what happened? How did you become the Devil?
- It's a long story, - replied the Devil. - And very sad.
- Tell me! - Alexander demanded. - I have the right to know!
- Do you have it? - the Devil asked again. - And on the basis of what?
- Based on the fact that you used me as cannon fodder! - Alexander exploded. - I almost died there! Several times!
- Well, you're alive. - the Devil objected. - Moreover, he got new abilities and weapons. So don't complain.
- I'll complain as much as I want! - Alexander snapped. - Answer the questions!
- But I won't, - the Devil laughed. - You know what? I'm sick of you. It's time for you to take the next mission.
- NO! - Alexander shouled. - Answer first!
"See you after the fourth mission," said the Devil and snapped his fingers.
- BITCH! - Alexander managed to shout before the darkness covered him.
The last thing he heard was the Devil's laughter. Satisfied, mocking laughter of a creature that clearly enjoyed his suffering.
"Well, wait, bastard," Alexander thought, falling into oblivion. - "Sooner or later I'll get to you. And then we'll see who will laugh."
The sword in his hand shimmered quietly in the dark, as if agreeing with the thoughts of his new master.