Chapter 25: The Raging Berserker

Chapter 25: The Raging Berserker

Raising its club above its head, the Berserker roared with fury. Its heaving chest swelled to enormous proportions as its blood boiled with rage.

Before Xander could plan his next move, the enraged Goblin hurtled down the road like a mad elephant, trampling the Implings who were foolish enough to stand in its path. In this frenzied condition, it could barely distinguish between friend and foe.

Driven by unbridled rage, the Berserker charged at the Dreamwalker and brought its club down with full force. Xander would have been pounded to a pulp if not for his quickened reflexes which helped him roll out of the way seconds before the club hammered the ground.

Things however took an unexpected turn when a flanking Impling caught Xander off-guard and managed to slash his back open with its claws.

Xander quickly realized that the effects of 'Destiny's Child' were wearing off. He no longer had the advantage of possessing quicker reflexes.

Sensing an opening, the Impling pounced on Xander, its filed teeth ready to bite into his neck. But before it could snap its jaws, Xander pulled out his revolver and shot it in its head.

Though Xander had managed to dispatch the Impling, the damage had already been done. Its sharp claws had injected a potent venom into his bloodstream. Within seconds, the skin around the wound turned black and mushy, giving off a foul rotten odor.

Xander quickly fished out the Amulet of Life and clutched it tightly within his palm. The healing effects of the relic slowly sealed the wound, preventing further blood loss. However, it wasn't powerful enough to reverse the effects of necrosis.

The searing pain in his back made it difficult for Xander to focus on anything else. He realized that he was in no condition to take on the rampaging giant.

While the Berserker was busy smashing the Implings around it, Xander sneaked across the park and hid behind a bench. With the amulet held tightly inside his palm, he closed his eyes and tried to overcome the pain.

It wasn't long before the amulet's magic energy was completely drained. Though its healing effect dulled his pain, the necrotic rot still remained.

As the Goblin Berserker continued rampaging across the park, it chanced upon the bench behind which Xander was hiding. Its sturdy legs stomped across the field, flattening the corpses in its path and crushing the trimmed hedges bordering the walkway.

Xander thought he was safe behind cover, but the Goblin ripped out the bench, exposing the Dreamwalker to its predatory gaze. Blobs of stinking white saliva flew out of its mouth as it growled like a hungry beast.

Xander sprang to his feet as the Goblin's heavy club came crashing down like a rock. It missed him by a mere inch as he jumped back at the last possible moment. However, before he could get away, the Berserker grabbed him with its free arm.

Caught inside the creature's unyielding grasp, Xander struggled like a fish out of water. His scythe dropped from his hand as the Goblin squeezed harder, making him squeal like a bleeding pig.

"Let go of me!" Xander cried out in pain.

All this time, Chief Volgin had been watching everything like a silent spectator. But seeing Xander about to meet his end, he finally gave his men permission to fire.

The cops aimed for the Goblin's torso and started shooting in measured bursts. A dozen pistols flashed around the park, and half a dozen shotguns screeched and boomed, peppering the enormous Ethereal with bullets.

The Berserker grumbled at the annoyance but refused to release Xander from its grip. Though the projectiles were powerful enough to bring down the Implings, the enormous Goblin's thickened skin proved to be impenetrable.

After firing at the Ethereal for two whole minutes, all the cops managed to accomplish was make it even angrier. The bullets bruised its skin but hardly caused any serious damage.

As Xander tried to wriggle free from the Goblin's grasp, it tightened its grip and prepared to hurl him across the park.

But before it could swing its arm, Xander's white direwolf sneaked up on it and pounced on its shoulder. The Goblin tried to shake it off, but this only caused the beast to clamp its jaws harder, piercing the giant's green skin with its curved white fangs.

The Goblin yelped in pain and loosened its grip on the Dreamwalker. This gave Xander just enough room to wriggle free. He slipped through its coarse fingers and dropped down onto a blueberry bush.

Finally free from the Berserker's grasp, Xander hobbled away to safety, clutching his aching right shoulder. The creature's crushing grasp had squeezed him a like a squeaky rubber duck, nearly breaking his bones. A second longer, and he would have ended up with a dislocated shoulder.

When all hope seemed to be lost, one of the Shadowmancers teleported to Xander.

"You've done enough. The Implings are dead. Let me get you out of here. Give me your hand," he urged, extending his outstretched arm.

Xander shook his head. "You don't understand. This isn't any ordinary Goblin. It's a Berserker, and it's gone into Blood Rage. If I don't find a way to kill it now...it will smash through the barricades and slaughter everyone in sight."

"You're insane. You already saw what happened to your friend—"

"That's exactly why I can't let the Berserker get out of this park."

"And just how the hell are you gonna kill something that huge?" the Shadowmancer questioned, his voice sounding increasingly annoyed.

"I'll find a way. Just...leave it to me."

"You're a stubborn ass," the Shadowmancer scoffed. And with those last words, he disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, leaving Xander to fend for himself.

By this time Xander had realized that a normal strategy would not work against the Berserker. There was no way he could match its physical strength, and now that it had gone into Blood Rage, dodging its attacks would be equally difficult.

While the direwolf was fighting the Berserker, Xander scanned the park carefully. The only way he could get an advantage over the enormous Ethereal was by using his environment.

Instead of trying to take the Berserker head-on like before, Xander made a beeline for the birdwatching tower. Using the sturdy wooden ladder, he climbed up and reached the top of the tower.

From the open balcony, Xander had a clear view of his surroundings. The tower provided him with much-needed elevation, allowing him to eliminate the Berserker's height advantage. noVE.lb-In

The white direwolf did its best to injure the Berserker, leaving it exhausted from the struggle. But in the end, the enormous Goblin proved to be too much for the beast to handle. It grabbed the direwolf's tail and yanked it away from its shoulder.

One club to the head was all it took to finish the direwolf off.

"You did good, buddy," Xander whispered from above. Though his direwolf had perished, he didn't look too concerned since the beast would eventually be revived and added to his card deck.

The only thing Xander regretted was allowing Riktor to join him. He would have still been alive if Xander had refused to give in to his entreaties.

"I'm sorry, Riktor. I hope your soul finds peace in Arestra's care. I promise I'll not let this bastard walk away."

With those final words, Xander climbed on top of the wooden railing bordering the open balcony and taunted the Berserker. "Hey, ugly! I'm over here!"

Hearing the Dreamwalker's voice, the Goblin turned around and locked its eyes on the tower.

Xander held out his right hand and called out to his scythe. The Dream Cleaver disappeared from the ground and reappeared in Xander's right hand.

As the Goblin Berserker came running toward the tower, Xander pulled out his revolver with his left hand and fired six quick shots that took out the creature's eyes.

Unable to rely on its sense of sight any longer, the Berserker fumbled around in the darkness, taking wild swings with its club.

Xander waited for it to get near the tower and as soon as it was within range, he holstered his gun. Gripping his scythe with both hands, he jumped down and landed on the Berserker's back.

The Dream Cleaver's spiked blade sliced through the Goblin's nape, cleaving a vertical furrow along the Ethereal's back. Xander dragged the scythe down with all his strength, splitting the Goblin's spine and spilling its innards.

The blind Berserker roared in pain and stumbled forward. Xander jumped down and watched as the enormous Ethereal hobbled across the park for a whole minute before collapsing to the ground like a lump of lifeless meat.

[Objective complete: Eliminate the Implings!]

[500 exp gained.]

[Accumulated exp: 200/1000.]

[Level up!]

[New Level: 3.]

[One Skill Point Acquired.]

[50*2 Nightmare Coins Acquired.]

[50*2 Nightmare Shards Acquired.]

[Bonus objective complete: Defeat the Goblin Berserker!]

[1000 exp gained.]

[Accumulated exp: 200/1500]

[Level up!]

[New Level: 4.]

[One Skill Point Acquired.]

[100*2 Nightmare Coins Acquired.]

[200*2 Nightmare Shards Acquired.]

[Relic obtained: Dagger of Diminishing.]

Xander breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down on the nearest bench to rest his aching body.

As he looked up, a polished black dagger with a bone handle dropped from the sky. He grabbed it mid-air, but before he could take a closer look at its engraved blade, his Chronica started vibrating inside his pocket.

"What the hell is this now?"

Putting the dagger inside his jacket, he pulled out his pocket watch. Suddenly, a bright white orb flew into it, and the watch's dial radiated with an eerie green glow.

[Mystic Soul obtained: 1.]

[Chronica has been empowered!]