"Don't look." Del grabbed Leon's head and pushed it downwards. "Those monsters have high sensitivity to prey. And that's what you are right now," his ruthless words made Leon's heart sting. But he knew that the old man was right.
The mimics continued to assault his ears, even more so, his mind. The cries of humans sent shivers down his spine. No matter how much he heard, Leon could never get used to hearing the death throes of people like him.
A few more seconds passed, and the mimics persisted. Rather than going away, it became louder and more sinister. Until Leon finally ignored Del's suggestion and looked up.
However, his actions were proven to be wrong.
His eyes met with one of the echo stalker's and sent shivers down his spine. The monster's head split in half, revealing the spiral of sharp teeth beneath.
"Found you."
He heard Del curse beside him as he jumped to his feet. The bag he carried fell with a thud and made dust rise around it. Leon, however, reacted differently.
He didn't have Del's fast response to danger and lacked the strength to do so. Del was ahead, charging towards the group of echo stalkers with two daggers in each of his hands.
'Where did those come from?!' Leon's thoughts echoed internally.
Del charged the group of echo stalkers with no hesitation. Small specs of dust rose under his feet with each step he took. His footsteps were swift and soundless, unlike the horrifying threats the echo stalkers bellowed.
The echo stalkers didn't wait for Del to arrive and rushed to him, hungry for another prey.
Leon couldn't see Del's expression with the old man's back turned to him, but with each small movement he made, it became a piece of the puzzle for Leon to discern his strength.
Del was strong. His unwavering battle-honed instincts made him able to charge toward a group of echo stalkers—monsters capable of destroying newly transported Hex bearers inside the Hollow.
It wasn't long before the old man clashed with the echo stalkers.
Del threw one of the daggers in his hand at one of the echo stalkers. The wind whistled as the dagger traveled through space with an unbelievable speed, followed by a squelching sound.
The dagger hit one of the echo stalker's opened maws straight in the center of spiraled teeth. Purple blood splurged from the wound momentarily before the monster fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
However, Leon couldn't let his gaze stay on the dying monster. Del continued to fight the others, swinging the other dagger around with small but precise movements. It didn't take a minute for him to bring down another one of the vile creatures.
"No!"
"Stop it!"
The remaining echo stalkers continued their mimicry. Their mimics grew hasty—almost desperate. And amidst all the noise, the wind carried another whisper.
[Go… fight.]
Leon couldn't help but curse internally. Goosebumps rose in his arms every time he heard the whispers. And he was starting to realize why.
He pushed himself up, picking the bag Del dropped beside him as he did. His movements were fast, but they were nowhere near as precise as Del continued to cut down the enemies.
Opening the bag, Leon scrambled to look for anything that could be used to defend himself.
'Where else would those daggers come from but here?!'
He rummaged through the bag and found nothing but the same ragged clothing of the echo stalkers. He turned the bag upside down and poured all of its contents out, until finally finding another small dagger.
Looking at it, it looked pretty worn out and less sophisticated than the ones that he saw Del used.
Suddenly, his nape felt cold.
"Kid, watch out!" Del's voice echoed throughout the bleached plains until it reached Leon. But before he could process what the old man said, his body had already rolled to the side.
He forced himself to stand up immediately after taking a single glance towards where he had crouched earlier.
The ground had melted as if an acid had been thrown at that one particular spot. And in the center of the melted ground was an echo stalker's sharp and elongated fingers.
"I almost died." Leon blurted out, gripping the dagger in his hand tighter.
His eyes flew towards Del. The old man was too preoccupied fighting against seven echo stalkers at once.
'He can't help me.' His hand trembled upon realizing that fact.
Leon raised the dagger towards the creature. His thoughts tried to ease his heart, thinking he had killed one of them before.
"Can you… help? I can… help. Kill." For the hundredth time, Leon frowned after seeing the teeth spiraling inside the stalker's mouth.
"Kill… Kill. Kill!"
Leon's knees grew weaker. The murderous intent the monster exuded was too much to bear. His mind became a mess of thoughts, figuring out why this one had far too high a level of intent.
"Kill the ____ shadow!"
His eyes blurred, and for a split second, Leon couldn't react after the monster dashed to him and lunged with its sharp fingertips.
His life flashed through his eyes, and for a moment, Leon thought he was done for. But in the split second before the monster could claim him as its dinner, his body moved on its own and evaded the attack once more.
Half a step to the left, and a small tilt of his upper body to the right was all it took to prevent him from being punctured like a chicken about to be roasted.
His heart beat fast inside his chest, the adrenaline, terror, panic, and most of all his unusual hyper-vigilance. Although he had known himself as somewhat observant, he had never been to this extent.
The dry wind brushing against his skin felt way too real, too prickly. The echo stalker's actions looked slow; each movement didn't go past him. The scent of the fishy and metallic blood swirled under his nose.
[Go…]
His body moved out of its own accord. He lunged toward the echo stalker, the dagger pointing straight at the monster. Leon almost couldn't hear anything other than his heart hammering loudly inside his chest.
The monster stayed where it stood, raising its elongated arms in the air and waiting for the opportunity.
Leon had entered its space, and it didn't wait for him to stab the dagger into its body. The monster's raised arms swung down with full force. The wind cried out along with it.
'Above!' Leon's eyes widened. Even with his guts screaming of the danger coming down at him, he remained focused on his goal. Too focused on the target.
"Ugh!" A groan escaped his lips. He felt the muscles on his back tighten. They compressed until it hardened and became stiff right as the dagger pierced through the echo stalker's neck.
"Ah! Agh! Arghh!!" A young woman's voice escaped from the creature's horrifying maw.
"No! Please, please… please. Don't kill… me."
Leon shuddered as the mimics grew softer, until the echo stalker became nothing but a bag of ragged clothes dancing with the occasional breeze.
For a moment, Leon saw a young girl's death. And it left a bad taste in his mouth, thinking he was the one to make her beg for mercy before her inevitable doom.
[You have killed an Echo Stalker!]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked an ability!]
His heart beat slowed down. His eyes bore no emotion as he stared at the ragged clothes flying away in the wind. The echo stalker's body dissipated into ash and blended with the surroundings.
Maybe, just maybe, this entire place was built on the deaths of all these creatures.
Thud.
Leon snapped out of his thoughts after a heavy hand pressed on his shoulder. He looked at Del, who stood behind him.
"You alright?" Leon studied the purple blood splattered on Del's cheek, but his suit remained pristine as it was before. Other than a small scratch on his neck, the old man looked fine, albeit tired.
"You look exhausted," Leon commented and received a chuckle from Del.
The benign smile returned on the old man's face as he removed his hand from Leon's shoulder.
"I'm way too old to be fighting like this. These poor old man's knees creak with every step," he paused and stared at the ragged clothes of the echo stalker Leon defeated, and continued. "So you should hurry up and get stronger. That way, I can finally retire."
"Is that what I should give back for your sponsorship? Continue your legacy?" Leon asked, his voice low but with a slight jocular tone underneath.
Del shrugged at Leon's question and held his hand out.
His head tilted to the side, confused at the old man's actions.
"The dagger."
Leon looked at the dagger in his hand, still covered in the creature's purple blood, before placing it on top of Del's palms.
'This petty old man can't even give me a worn-out dagger. But then again, he gave me a Life Essence.' Leon brushed the thought away right after.
"We need to move. That's not a good sign." Del blurted out.
The old man wore a grim expression on his face. His head looked up at the sky. Leon followed his line of sight, and for the first time since coming into this place. He saw something of a different color within the gray hell.
The gray clouds had turned dark. And the creature wriggling above it has become restless—convulsing with each movement it makes.
And the whisper came, once again.
[No.]