The last rays of the sun clung to the horizon, staining the clouds a sickly purple. The world, for an instant, seemed to hold its breath.
"BANG!"
The thunderous roar of the Barrett M82 echoed across the plaza.
Powerful, dominant. More than the sound of a gunshot, it was like Thor's hammer striking the clouds, which threatened to unleash a storm.
Such punishment from the gods was immediately followed by the chilling crunch of pulverized bone.
Suddenly, a section of the orc chief's head, who was about to finish off Astrad, seemed to detach as if it had been pierced by an imposing spear.
"CRACK!"
The ground cracked as the orc took a staggering step forward, trying to stay on his feet while his arms fell limply.
"BANG!"
The second shot was just as devastating. It impacted the left side of his chest, where humans have their hearts.
It wasn't a clean wound; it was like a detonation. Flesh and embedded metal exploded outward, leaving a cavernous, smoking crater, similar to the one now piercing a corner of his forehead.
"CRACK!"
The asphalt shattered as the orc chief fell heavily to his knees. Even so, dying, his size was such that Astrad still had to raise his head to meet his gaze.
[[…]]
Not a soul dared to move as the two warriors looked at each other. And then, they both smiled.
The Orc, with part of his face destroyed. Astrad, with his lips split and bloody.
And yet, their smiles carried an unquestionable satisfaction.
In the orc chief's eyes, there was no anger, injustice, or remorse, only the satisfied glint of one who had lived without fear and would die the only way that mattered.
And then.
"¡GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
He screamed, not in pain, not in fear, much less in surrender. He looked up at the sick sky and roared with a satisfaction that could not be described in words. In that cry, there was victory, relief, and an infinite joy for the battle granted.
"BOM!"
Finally, the roar was cut short by the resonance of a huge explosion, followed by a blaze behind the orc chief that had formed from the impact of a missile.
And so, between screams and fire, the orc chief finally fell onto his back.
Leaving behind the last rumble his existence would give to the city.
[[[[[[...…..]]]]]]
The world seemed to have stopped again as the shadows of the infinite night took over the city.
The goblins, the refugees, and even some of the sacrifices with reason who had stayed until the end, stared at the smoking corpse as if it were an unthinkable blasphemy.
[Hehehe] —finally, Astrad's laugh broke the silence.
[A really tough bastard] —he said, as he practically dragged his shattered body forward.
Carelessly, he climbed onto the orc's chest, as if it were a mound of earth and, for the first time, he was the one looking down on him.
There, barely breathing and conscious, the orc chief looked back at him.
His regeneration had obviously deteriorated to practically nothing, but by human standards, it was still a visible and absurd recovery.
But none of that mattered to Astrad, and of course, it mattered even less to the orc.
[Any reason for being so stubborn?] —he finally asked.
But there was no answer. Instead, still with a satisfied smile, the orc closed his one good eye and, with his last strength, lifted his head slightly, offering his neck.
Seeing this, Astrad raised an eyebrow.
Of course, he understood the gesture clearly.
And then.
[Heh… hahaha…] [Hahaha.] [[ahahahaha]]
Once again, the laughter of the monster and the boy merged into one, a duet that made those who heard it shudder.
[You crazy son of a bitch] —Astrad finally said as he grabbed one of the orc chief's enormous tusks and pulled on it, exposing his throat.
As if reading the boy's mind, the cat, which had been alert the whole time, pounced on the orc's throat.
But its body was weak; its claws and bite were insufficient to finish the job.
Even so, it thrashed its body, using every gram of its energy to tear at that throat.
And in the midst of that brutal scene.
[[Ahahaha]]
Laughter.
[[Ahahaha]]
Not aggressive, not condescending.
[[Ahahaha]]
The orc chief laughed, his laughter laced with gurgles of dried blood that pooled in his throat.
[[Ahahaha]]
Astrad laughed too, his voice a mixture of exhaustion and stubbornness.
Somehow, he forced himself to use his shattered arm. Blood poured from his open wounds like crimson fountains, but he didn't care.
With his hands, he grabbed both of the orc chief's tusks and pulled his head with superhuman strength.
[[AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]]
The lunatic laughter took over every corner as a strange crimson energy seemed to flicker between Astrad and the orc king.
The goblins, whose hearts had begun to fill with the expectation of a power vacuum, shuddered in terror at the atmosphere that grew more andE-more oppressive.
["¡GRAAAAA!"]
The enormous cat also began to change rapidly.
Vigor seemed to return to its body; in its empty sockets, eyes emerged that glowed a burning crimson.
It ignored its wounds and began to tear at the orc's throat with a savage frenzy.
But no matter how savage it became, the laughter did not stop.
The sound of breaking bone, tearing skin, and overflowing blood filled the plaza. Then, with a pull that almost dislocated Astrad's shoulders, the orc's head separated from its body.
[AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…]
In the end, only Astrad's laughter echoed in the plaza, as he used his last strength to throw the orc chief's decapitated head aside.
Without hesitation, the tiger pounced on it, as if it were a prize given by its master, and began to devour the orc's skull.
It seemed to have lost control completely. Its fangs tore at the flesh and bone as if it were devouring its parents' killer.
Astrad looked at the terrified goblins around him. And with a vicious smile, he said as he puffed out his chest:
[Who's next?]
As if it were a signal, the cat stopped devouring the orc chief's head.
Its enormous, saw-like claws stepped on the decapitated head and with a bestial impulse, it roared to the heavens.
["¡GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"]
At the roar that seemed capable of devouring the gods, the goblins fled in all directions, consumed by panic.
...........
------------------- Flora's Point of View ----------------
[[[[ASTRAD!]]]] ["GRIII!"] ["NYA!"]
As soon as we arrived at the scene in the battered truck, Yumi and the others lunged towards Astrad.
The entire plaza is in absolute ruin, proof of the no-holds-barred war that had been unleashed.
Blood, entrails, mutilated remains, destruction, and the rubble of what was once a goblin camp.
And in the center of it all, Astrad, on top of the orc chief's corpse, staring into the void with a lost look.
His appearance is abnormal.
His eyes glowed with a crimson light and the same strange energy danced over his body like a faint, bloody spark.
His hair fluttered in a non-existent wind as the reddish mantle slowly dyes his hair red like ink on paper.
And with every breath, he released a reddish vapor, as if the blood in his body was evaporating in real time.
["¡GRAAAAAAAAAAA!"]
Yumi and the others are forced to stop in their tracks when that enormous tiger finally drops the half-eaten head of the orc chief to jump behind Astrad.
["Grrrrrrrr."]
Its red eyes were unfocused, crazed. The same crimson energy enveloped it. And in its mouth, clamped between its jaws, was something that glittered.
It wasn't flesh. It was a huge crystal, like a rough ruby, pulsing with a red light so intense it hurt to look at. I couldn't help but wonder where it got that. Was it in the orc's head?
"Clank!"
As I was lost in my thoughts, the crystal shattered in the tiger's mouth. Immediately, it began to chew it and catch some of the pieces that escaped it in the air.
And then.
["¡GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"]
The tiger roared at the sky again. The crimson current exploded, transforming into a hurricane of energy.
I felt an invisible pressure crush me, as if gravity had multiplied, forcing me almost to my knees.
But in the midst of all this, Astrad didn't react.
[Astrad… It's me… look at me.] - Yumi's voice trembled.
She looks at Astrad with tears streaming down her cheek.
The others also try to call him, but they only get silence in the midst of the devastating storm.
[Give him to me.] —Yumi insisted, taking a step forward, but she only received a low growl from the tiger.
On the contrary, Astrad's gaze remained empty, his usual annoying smile replaced by an abnormally savage seriousness.
[You're the cat from the bridge, right? You were helping Astrad, weren't you? You know us, we won't hurt him.]
The girls seem to know the tiger and try to persuade it, but it doesn't seem very willing to listen to reason.
Even so, it doesn't attack; it just keeps shielding the boy, like a mother protecting her cub at all costs.
[Astrad, please…] —Yumi was the boldest, continuing to advance regardless of the tiger's threats.
A part of me is amazed to see the tears of a woman who once punched a bear in the face with a smile.
While another part of me can't help but understand her. As a friend, as a mother.
Seeing the state of the always-mischievous brat, reduced to what could only be called a walking corpse, was simply an unbearable scene.
[Come with your aunt…] —Yumi finally managed to place her hand on Astrad's cheek.
At the same time, her head was practically halfway into the tiger's jaws. We all held our breath.
One wrong move and in less than an instant, it would all be over.
But then, as if it were all a lie, the strange crimson storm disappeared without a trace, along with the suffocating pressure.
The next instant, Astrad's body slumped onto Yumi, who hurried to catch him. And the tiger wasn't far behind in following his example, pulling its jaws away and adopting a submissive posture instead, as the crimson retreated from its eyes, leaving behind golden pupils.
[It's okay, I'm here, everything is okay now] —Yumi collapses to the ground between sobs as she holds Astrad.
The others quickly rush to surround him and hug him too, with tears in their eyes.
But, although I'm relieved, I can't help but feel that something is wrong.
Even though it's no longer a storm, that strange crimson glow still surrounds them and the tiger doesn't seem to be particularly enjoying it.
However, before I can say anything, the crimson traces began to slowly enter the bodies of the two goblins and the small white cat, which was also sticking close to Astrad.
Soon, all the flashes around Astrad and the enormous tiger were absorbed by the three of them, apparently without them noticing, their intensity slowly diminishing.
At the same time, Astrad's face and that of the tiger looked noticeably relieved.
[[[[…]]]]
Wiston and the others exchange complicated glances.
But before we can say anything, Wiston puts his hand on my shoulder and shakes his head.
[There's a lot we still don't know… The only thing that matters now] —he said, his voice hoarse from the smoke and tension, looking at Yumi and the girls who were crying their eyes out—. [Is that we survived one more day….]