An Unexpected Upgrade (1)

Tesse stood there in fear, unable to move.

After standing there for nearly a minute she realized that she wasn't even breathing, the thought that her life had nearly ended without her even knowing it still gnawed at her mind.

But suddenly an image of Gray appeared. It was the day he had saved her, the day she had forfeited her life to him.

The words she swore repeated in her mind like a broken record player, urging her to move.

'Right, master wouldn't falter just because the enemy was powerful. If I ever wish to live up to the promise I made to him, then this much is nothing,' thought Tesse as she slowly reached for the pistol she had placed on her waist.

Her hands shivered as she slung the sniper over her shoulder and held the pistol out in front of her.

'The sniper takes too long to reload. And anyway, it's not like it's much use in this darkness anyway,' thought Tesse as she peeked from the side of the tree she was hiding behind.

The silhouette of the beast stood above the bodies of the party members who had remained, their cries for help but a mere whimper as the beast stared down at them.

"P-please," whispered one of the party members too scared to even scream as the beast grabbed him by the head and picked him up, his legs dangling as the beast stared at him in the eyes.

"As a hunter you have lost your honor by giving up on the hunt," said the beast almost solemnly in its low guttural voice.

"N-no," stuttered the beast's victim, shaking his head as his body shivered in fear.

"Since you are no longer a hunter, you have no use for your head," said the beast, ripping the man's head off with its bare hands.

The sound of blood trickling to the ground was the only thing that could be heard in the pitch-black darkness.

Tesse's body kept screaming at her to run, to get away from her as fast as she could. However, the image of Gray in her mind willed her through it, pushing her closer and closer towards the beast.

As Tesse approached it, hiding behind the cover of nearby trees, the beast sat down, its legs crossed in front of it.

A second later the sound of bones crunching could be heard, the beast was feeding upon the man it had just killed.

The remaining survivors began murmuring, pleading for mercy. They had the choice to run, but were painfully aware that escape was impossible. They had already given up hope, begging for mercy was the only logical course of action for them.

*Taw* (Pistol sfx)

The snap of a pistol being fired rang in the ears of all the remaining survivors, its sound like a glimmer of hope, causing some of the survivors to shed tears of joy.

However that was short-lived.

"Little huntress, I admire your grit. However, I have watched your group since you arrived, like many others none of you have the capabilities to hunt me."

"My offer still stands little huntress, flee now and complete your hunt. You remind me of myself when I was younger, always wanting to hunt game too strong for me. Go now, before I change my mind," the beast's words shattered any hope of survival that any of the survivors had.

The suit it wore deflected the bullet like it was made of paper, the beast didn't even flinch at the impact the bullet made with its body.

"Y-you are my quarry. I must hunt you for the master," replied Tesse, trying her best to keep her legs from giving out on her.

"I am not your quarry, your people seem to be mistaken. You come to me like crazed prey who run to their predator. I am the hunter of this forest, and YOU are my quarry," said the beast before continuing with its meal.

At those words Tesse backed away slowly, keeping her pistol raised in case the beast tried to attack her.

'Beware the hunter.' thought Tesse, remembering the words that the autonomous voice had announced at the beginning of the raid.

***

"Speak," shouted Gray, looking at the blue-haired girl dead in the eyes.

The girl remained quiet, hoping that Gray was just bluffing.

"Perhaps this will change your mind," whispered Gray, removing the blood dagger he had placed in the chest slot of his black suit, licking it as he lifted it to the girl's face.

'H-he's bluffing, h-he wouldn-' the girl's thinking was interrupted by a jolt of stinging pain that came from her face, a deep red line carved across her eye as Gray stared at her with a sadistic gaze.

The girl could no longer keep up the act, she knew that if she didn't comply this guy would surely kill her.

"W-what do you want?" stuttered the girl, pulling herself out of Gray's grasp before covering her eye.

"That's more like it. If you spoke earlier I wouldn't have ruined your pretty face, now I doubt anyone will want to pay for you," teased Gray, placing the knife back in his chest slot.

"How well do you know the layout of this place?"

"L-Like the back of my hand," exaggerated the blue-haired girl, trying to prove her worth so as not to be killed.

"Good, good. Can you draw it out for me?" asked Gray, his smile still as sinister as ever.

'Ahh yes, this face, this hatred, this pain. I bet if I gave her the chance she would end me in an instant.' thought Gray as the girl looked at him with defiant eyes.

"H-how. There is no pape-" the girl's sentence was cut short as Gray pointed to her blood on the ground.

"Use that," said Gray flatly.

After a few seconds the girl had drawn a very primitive outline of the building on the grey floor using her own blood.

"So there are only two floors?"

"Yes, the upper floor acts as the dollhouse. The lower floor is where they house us, and is also where the boss's office is," said the girl, the last part of it coming out as a painful breath.

"And do you know how many guards there are or what their powers are?" asked Gray as he studied the map intently, saving it to his memory.

"N-no," answered the girl sadly.

"I-I'm only a doll. I wouldn't know all that,"

"Hmm very well. You've proved your worth, thank you," said Gray as he stood up straight.

"T-thank you," said the girl, a wave of relief overcoming her.

"Thank you? Why ever would you say that?" asked Gray, his crimson red eyes glimmering as he stared at the girl with a lustful gaze.

"Y-you're letting me go right? I-I told you everything I know. I did as you said." said the girl in confusion.

"Not quite. I need something else, your blood, your soul. Give them to me," laughed Gray as he removed the katana from his cloak.