When Death said he was giving Zeth "the most broken system in the heavens," he didn't expect it to be broken literally.
[Shit...That's a monster!]
A blue screen appeared before Zeth, and fury numbed his brain. Was this an elaborate prank, or was fate having fun with him? Zeth refused to accept this foul reality. He rubbed his eyes once, then again. The screen remained unchanged.
"Why am I alive?"
He almost whispered, but caught himself. The monster heard anyway and sniffed the air, tracing the scent of blood toward him. It growled, standing right before his hiding spot, and Zeth knew one wrong move could mean death.
'It's a hobgoblin.'
Zeth finally got a close look and matched the creature to the novels he had read. The situation was dire; If he wanted to stay alive, he needed to think fast, and he did.
The monster loomed closer, and Zeth crawled around to the control board, afraid to make a sound. The monster's nose wrinkled; it could clearly smell the blood on his clothes, very near him. It growled, ready to strike. But before it could, Zeth pushed the controls on.
Suddenly, the large theater screen lit up, and a movie played just where Zeth had left it.
"I am vengeance! I am the knight! I am the bat..."
The speaker boomed, drawing the monster's attention to the black figure on the screen. Without a second thought, it lunged at the giant screen. Zeth seized the opportunity and rushed out of hiding.
The screen cracked, and the speakers glitched. The monster, whom he thought was unintelligent, saw Zeth leave through the door. Their eyes met, and its vicious teeth opened in a smile.
'You healthy son of Sherlock…'
Zeth locked the door and ran as if his life depended on it...because it did. He had only covered a few meters when he heard the wall behind him burst open, and heavy footsteps neared closer and closer. Zeth didn't dare to look back.
As he ran, Zeth knew he had to either escape or kill the monster. Neither case looked possible, yet running was the easier option. Maybe, if he reached the warehouse above in time, he might grab a weapon and, if lucky, kill the hobgoblin.
"Clanker, do something!" he yelled.
[Mmm...Nah!]
Zeth bit his lip. Never in his life had he struggled so much as he had in the past few days. And from what he could see, it wasn't ending anytime soon.
The heavy footsteps were close, right behind him. The hairs on his neck rose as he felt the incoming strike, and he jumped to the side, onto the stairs. The monster, on the other hand, wasn't as swift due to its size.
Its legs failed to grip the tiles as it slid across the floor. Zeth used this opportunity to jump up the stairs. Though his soul had experienced combat in heaven, his body was still that of the lousy bum who lay on cushions all day.
As a result, Zeth was already exhausted. His stamina had long been depleted, and every step felt like climbing a mountain; the monster was still struggling to find its balance on slippery ground. The stairs came to an end, and he ran again toward the right gate. Just a few more meters, and he would enter the security warehouse...or so he thought.
The monster looked at him from below before it grabbed the dining table from the center of the hall and threw it with immense force. Whether it was Zeth's reaction or the monster's poor aim, the table struck just before him, blocking his path as it dug into the concrete, and the floor beneath him cracked.
Zeth's nose wrinkled. He couldn't help but remember the constructor boasting about the bungalow's construction quality. Discarding any distracting thought, he turned around and ran in the opposite direction. The monster grinned, enjoying the cat-and-mouse chase, and jumped up the stairs to follow him.
"I pray to thee...holy and invincible...absolute and eternal...Death!"
Desperately, he chanted the prayer, but the same notification appeared before him again, leaving his only chance of survival still out of reach.
[In order to wield the power of death, let go of all materialistic attachments.]
'What the hell does that mean?'
Zeth's brows furrowed as he pushed the glass door open. Beyond it lay a wide-open rooftop with an H mark, and in the center of the mark was a black helicopter sitting still.
"Pilot, where is the pilot?" he yelled. No one came out.
Zeth cursed inside. Normally, this place would be brimming with staff, and suddenly there was no one.
"Death, you see this? I need your help!" he yelled at the sky, almost crying. But the heavens didn't respond.
'Materialistic attachments? What could it mean?'
He thought for a moment. His life was full of materialistic desires. Did he need to reach nirvana or something to wield the powers of death? Definitely, it couldn't be that hard. There had to be a catch, something simple, something he was still missing.
Something free from desires like death…or that monster.
"WRRRRAAARRR!"
The hobgoblin burst through the door, groaning. Thick veins bulged through its bare body as it breathed heavily while looking at Zeth. And exactly at that moment, Zeth realized something from the monster closing in.
'The monster…Free from materialistic attachments.'
He looked below at his gold-plated custom-made Crocs, then looked at the monster standing barefoot.
'Just like him...just like Death.'
[Good boy...]
The system notification confirmed it.
With a new resolve on his face, he tossed the Crocs up and threw them toward the monster. The Crocs hit their mark. Though no physical damage was visible, Zeth bought himself a moment.
The monster roared again and launched at him while he stripped off his pajamas. The distance between them instantly closed. It lunged to devour him, but before it could, Zeth threw his clothes onto its face.
The monster's vision was blocked, and Zeth escaped its sight. It was too late to stop the charging, heavy body; the monster crashed into the helicopter, leaving a huge crater as it passed through.
"You should have just told me earlier!" Zeth roared in anger. He tore the golden chains with red-diamond accents that rested around his neck. While the monster was still disoriented, Zeth climbed up to the third-floor roof, then the fourth.
He ran toward the edge, pulling out the special-edition golden rings he wore on all ten fingers. He stood still and prayed again.
"I pray to thee...holy and invincible...absolute and eternal...Death!"
And to his surprise, the same notification appeared again.
[In order to wield the power of death, let go of all materialistic attachments.]
The monster jumped off the floor and was now standing before him. They stood facing each other at the top of the bungalow, and Zeth knew he had nowhere left to run. The hobgoblin's merciless eyes met his desperate gaze as it slowly neared.
"Still not enough! What more do you want from me?"
Zeth looked down, only to realize he was still wearing his comfy red floral-patterned underwear.
"No..."
[Yesh...]