She heard the piercing howl of Toko split the night. Maeve witnessed the last remnants of humanity, running for cover and fear.
“Cowards!” she muttered under her breadth. There was nowhere left to run, so they might as well fight.
Brushing off the weaklings, she ran into Hawk as he struggled to stay standing and with an eye permanently closed. She ran to catch the man before he fell. “I got you, old man.” she said with a smirk grabbing him under his arm to keep him steady.
“Is it that bad kiddo?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s that bad.” she said firmly. “By the time we were able catch up to the skinny one, he’d taken out all our healers and ranged support units. It was a completely unknown stealth technique that we’d never seen before.”
“What’s your dad say?” Hawk asked, knowing the answer already.
“It’s time,” she said flatly. “I need your help with this shot. You have anything left in the tank?”
Hawk sighed, took out his last cigarette, lit it and blew out a cloud of smoke into the air. “Let’s do it, kid.” he said, grabbing his bow. “Head up to that outcropping.” said Hawk as he pointed towards a higher vantage point further away from the mayhem and madness currently consuming the battlefield.
Together they ran along the outskirts of the camp witnessing the countless bodies strewn along the battlefield. Maeve and Hawk glanced at each other and kept moving as they didn’t have the luxury to wait for death.
As they reached the top of the rocky hill, they witnessed the battle between Joshua and Toko waging on the front lines. They spotted the bodies of their friends and campmates strewn amongst the battlefield and steeled themselves.
“Do you remember what I taught you; about your stance and breathing?” asked Hawk.
“Are you kidding me?” Maeve looked astonished.
That got a response from the girl that the old veteran immensely enjoyed. He put up his hands in a halting gesture. “I know, I know, but I can’t hold a steady shot like this. I think that’s obvious.” He pointed to the eye and various other wounds.
“You’re ready for this! You’ve trained for this and everyone, including your father, believes in you. I’ll funnel my abilities through you and no matter what you hear or sense, focus on the shot.”
He clapped her thin shoulder. “I have no doubts about your abilities Maeve. I’m proud of you, like you were my own.” Hawk said staring straight not meeting her gaze.
She grabbed the large bow, teased the string, pulled it into position and practiced the motion of the pull multiple times. Not once did she look down at the battle below. No… now she needed to examine her tool of execution.
“A dull mind is like a rusty scalpel. They both do more damage than they heal.” her father would say. “Always look after your tools, and they in turn, will look after you.”
Hawk noticed the change come over Maeve like day turning to night. He lamented the loss of a normal life for the child. He watched her recite the motions he had taught her multiple times with no change in her form, brilliantly absorbing in moments what took him a lifetime to learn.
Her breathing started to match the timing of the pull without a single arrow in its grasp. He could think of no better person to trust humanity to as the last hand ticked ever closer.
Everyone always discussed his children’s exceptional aptitude for using their skills and abilities. Even Aurora, his late wife, would show amazing growth with her abilities at the oddest of times.
“You’re ready. Here take this.” said Hawk as he pulled his final arrow from his quiver in a hidden pouch.
“This arrow was fashioned by Will and Bev together to fight against the undead. It’s pure silver and blessed by your mother herself. It doesn’t take a genius to try a big ass silver arrow against a werewolf.” he said with a snorting laugh.
She grabbed the arrow and nocked it into place.
Maeve watched and waited as the battle unfolded before her. Her single focus was the giant wolf. Her single target was the wolf’s left eye and there her focus would remain… until the world ended.
Hawk marveled at her concentration, wishing he could have taught her sooner. Her singular focus trained on one location; all other distractions drowned out.
‘What a terrifying individual.’ he thought. “Guess I’ll have to get to work too.”
Hawk activated his skill [Eyes of the Predator], sacrificing his remaining eye. The power from before still flowed within him but there was no pain this time as his right eye exploded. He bestowed the power on Maeve, enhancing her accuracy and power to the extreme.
“Make the son of a bitch pay kid!” he said aloud.
“Yes Sir!” Maeve said absolutely.
Back to the present moment, Joshua had just knocked Toko into the sky.
Maeve had been watching the wolf and gained insight into its facial expressions. She saw the fear manifest as he started to lose the battle. She also noticed the resolution, a preparation to give everything for victory. These were the moments that her father taught her specifically to pay attention to. He called them the gaps between action and reaction. He was about to activate his skill. That’s why her dad had helped her create her new, hidden trump card.
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Interrupt
Using your mana reserves, fuel hyper accelerated processing for pinpoint reaction timing. The world seemingly decelerates to viscous lethargy compared to the user’s enhanced cognitive speed. Causes taxation of the user’s Central Nervous System after use.
She borrowed her father’s mana and the world slowed to a crawl. The familiar hue of Hawk’s skill started instantly correcting her trajectory by millimeters.
Then finally, after what seemed like an eternity of calculating trajectories, geometry and wind knots...Maeve released the silver shaft. The arrow fired like a lightning bolt, Eyes of the Predator granting the arrow an almost 100% accuracy.
She couldn’t take the chance of firing into his heart as his muscles worked like armor. Appendages wouldn’t hold the damage, as he was already a killing machine and keeping him pinned has already proven almost impossible. No, it needed to be a shot that could change the way a creature fought, moved and absorbed information. The snout was too small a target with biting, talking, and twitch movements.
The arrow buried itself into the wolf’s eye with a sickening ‘Thunk!’.
Toko’s Berserker skill instantly ended, throwing the large wolf into pain and shock. The arrow met in perfect time, as Joshua met its neck with Legion extended full force.
The wolf’s neck was ripped and bludgeoned from the dual impacts. Its body slammed into the ground like an asteroid, forming a massive crater in the ground. A mushroom cloud of rock dust and debris flew into the air. The world stood frozen until the wind blew away the dust obscuring everyone’s vision.
There, standing at the center of the crater with Legion, stood Joshua. He towered above the slain body of the golden scarred werewolf chief.
Humanity had won!
Joshua tilted his head back and let loose a bellow of victory, completely caught in the rapture of glory and war. Absolutely nothing was better to the man than besting an opponent who felt itself superior.
After Joshua’s victory cry, the entire camp erupted in cheer! “We won!!” and “We’re safe!” joined the chorus of tears of joy and celebration.
Congratulations Humanity!
Enemies 2/2 Slain (Golden Claw Tribe will be demoted. Culling Quest will be issued soon.)
Updated Reward Achieved. The winner will now be promoted to System 2 access along with their wish. This increases the potency and strength of their choice.
Calculating Achievement Points for Humanity.
Joshua Williams 125,423
Alexander Evans 116,000
Maeve Evans 100,101
Micah Williams 99,327
Tyrus Wells 83,222
Joshua beamed with pride and swelled his chest as he visioned his future beginning to unfold. His old world had passed away and he would make sure that humanity evolved and moved beyond its petty ways. He alone was the rallying figure the world had needed all along. He would become Humanity’s first True Emperor.
He turned his head, noticing his brother rising from the ground and staring at him in wonder. Joshua smiled for the first time in a very long time from the bottom of his heart.
He hated and mourned the loss of Morgan, but he would use her sacrifice to fuel his path forward. He knew it’s what she would want. Something tugged at his mind and he jerked his head back towards the system screen,
“How the hell did he get so many points!? That bastard didn’t even help us fight!” he shouted with anger.
The system gave no more messages and Joshua scanned the battlefield, searching for the final nail that had dug into his heels for so long.
“It’s time to end this,” he said while smiling.
As shouts of joy and congratulations erupted all around, a sense of urgency parted the crowd as Joshua walked towards his target.
Out of the corner of his eye Joshua could see Maeve and Hawk running to Alexander’s tent. He was no fool; he had seen the power infusing the masses across the battlefield.
His abilities and powers were always unknown. To not trust in him or his teammates with crucial intelligence during our final stand was inexcusable. This gave off the vibes of Psychic power, conveniently giving Joshua another motive.
He slowly walked through the dismembered bodies of humans and monsters alike. The stench permeated the air as some of the others wretched at the sight of war. Damion, Morgan, and countless others had given their lives for our survival.
This had been absolute hell.
The others had witnessed the contribution message and wondered about Threads, some in worry, others in anger. A giant wedge of confused people formed behind Joshua as he walked to the solitary tent, just on the outskirts of the tent area.
Something about the place didn’t feel right as Joshua approached the tent. He noted the pull on his power as he approached, already feeling less after his fight. Looking down, he noticed the body of the other wolf at the opening of the flap. The body had bled out its neck wound, seemingly with no struggle.
“What bullshit is this! Come out and face me Alexander before I come in and strike you down where you stand!” said Joshua menacingly stepping forward the tent flap.
An arrow flew down directly in front of Joshua, pausing his movement. Moments later Maeve skidded into place in front of the tent opening, with Hawk breathing heavily and effectively blind behind her.
“Back off Joshua!” she said with her short sword raised. “You’ve already won, what’s the problem?” she said unbudgingly.
“My problem… Maeve” he said taking a step towards her without hesitation “is that now that I’m the winner, I no longer need either of you.” he said.
“Joshua please, you don’t need to do this. Haven’t we all suffered enough. Let’s just move forward. We’ve all sacrificed more than we had to give!” she said in a genuinely sincere tone.
“Move aside now Maeve.” he said in a low tone. He stepped closer towards the girl, noticing her blade tremble with exhaustion.
“Brother, no!” shouted Micah limping as fast as his body would allow. “You’ve won, let’s just finish this out. You have the wish to make.” He stated flatly.
“Enough!” He leveled his blade at Maeve and spoke clearly, and evenly. “Come out now Alexander. No more tricks, no more subterfuge and no more lies. Don’t make me kill your child.”
The tenseness in the area grew as everyone was on the edge of exhaustion. No one could have anticipated the next few moments, as the course of Humanity shifted again. The blue screen filled everyone’s vision and plastered across the blood red sky.
Error... Recalculating. New winning results now reflect an updated winner.
- Alexander Evans 250,000
Congratulations Humanity, your Champion shall now receive their rewards.
Joshua roared and threw Maeve and Hawk to the side with pure force. He flung the flap back, preparing to kill Alexander once and for all.
As he slung the curtains open, he froze in abject horror. Those running stopped as they gazed at their tortured friend. Maeve flung herself to the ground covering her mouth as her eyes poured tears from the sight before her. Her father sat in his chair, missing both eyes as his sockets bled.
His body had shriveled to a husk. The mana given to his people had taken its toll. You could barely recognize the once proud father and friend as he gasped with ragged breath. His eyes are what shocked the leftovers. This broken man stared into Joshua's eyes with a fire and hatred that made him briefly rock back. Though his body was mangled, the power and mana within the air dared anyone to make a move; like watching a gunfight in a western.
“Dad?... ” Maeve asked through a torrent of tears. "Daddy?"