On the snowy plains of Ursus's border.
Steven had left the village almost half a day ago. After searching along the area around the village, he finally confird that the thing called the "Collapsal" had most likely passed through here.
After all, the wild animals that should have appeared on the map had completely disappeared. Instead, along the way, Steven had encountered a few disgusting, multi-eyed, multi-legged monsters that had been transford.
Steven taught those creatures the aning of authentic Arican quick-draw using his .50 caliber Desert Eagle.
And as facts proved, all kinds of monstrous creatures are nothing more than paper tigers when faced with sheer caliber. If you can't deal with them, it just ans your caliber isn't big enough, or the firepower isn't strong enough.
No matter how ferocious and terrifying those infected and mutated creatures were, once their heads and bodies were blasted into a pulp by bullets, they lost any chance of coming back to life. Not to ntion, Steven had also lazily thrown a firebomb at them afterward.
Though the thrill of hunting was enjoyable, the inability to find his true target inevitably left Steven a bit frustrated.
He still had no idea where this so-called "Collapsal" was hiding. All he could do was expand his search area bit by bit.
It would have been much faster if he had a companion to help, but following the classic horror movie logic that lone wolves are fine while split-up groups die, Steven decided against bringing along a sacrificial lamb.
Searching alone might be slower, but at least it was safer.
And as the number of infected, mutated beasts continued to increase, Steven felt he must be getting closer to the creature he was looking for.
After passing through a forest, Steven once again slled a familiar scent.
To be precise, it was a scent he was familiar with, but this ti it was slightly different.
It was the sll of blood—but not from animals.
Scratching his head, Steven walked in the direction of the scent. Before long, he stumbled upon a scene of chaos: a large rchant caravan's scattered belongings, along with lifeless bodies mixed among the debris.
Crouching down, Steven examined the corpses that still retained so warmth. After noticing that they had only recently died and that their internal organs were still intact, he narrowed his eyes and stretched lazily.
Finally, he had caught up with it. The wounds, inflicted with a single strike by sothing resembling a long object, were not ones he'd seen on any of the wild animals.
As Steven surveyed the area, which was now devoid of any living humans, a sudden explosion in the distance pointed him straight toward his target.
The distinct aura of Originium Arts emanating from the explosion puzzled Steven. Could soone have actually survived an encounter with the "Collapsal" that Talulah had hyped up as near-invincible?
With a face full of doubt, Steven quickly headed in the direction of the explosion.
However, despite Steven's speed, it seed he was still a step too late.
In an area marked with obvious signs of a fierce battle, Steven saw strange pale green slimy substances splattered everywhere. Naturally, he also saw an old Ursus man slumped powerlessly in the center of the scene, clutching a wooden staff and seemingly unconscious.
There was no sign of the so-called "Collapsal" nearby. It appeared that the creature had been dispersed by the Originium explosion unleashed by the old man's desperate attack.
After confirming there were no other living beings in the vicinity, Steven approached the slumped old man.
Judging by the round, bear-like ears on top of his head, it was easy to tell that the man belonged to the Ursus people, specifically the brown bear race. The faint, albeit detectable, breaths coming from him further confird that he was still alive.
"Hey, still alive? If you are, just say sothing," Steven said casually, poking the old man's body without any trace of respect for the elderly.
The old man mumbled faintly, like the dying whispers of soone on their last breath, making it impossible to discern what he was saying.
Noticing Steven's presence, the old man struggled to lift his head. His withered lips moved slightly, but the sounds he uttered remained indistinct and incomprehensible.
Unable to make sense of the muttering, Steven crouched down, his face puzzled, and leaned closer to try and catch what the old man was saying.
However, just as he leaned in, a gleam of cunning suddenly flashed through the old man's seemingly lifeless eyes. The next mont, a mass of tentacles, resembling octopus limbs, shot out from his mouth, aiming to engulf Steven's unsuspecting head.
The old man's body twisted and deford rapidly, and in re monts, he transford into a grotesque creature, its entire body covered with eyes and writhing tentacles.
But faster than its sudden attack was the bullet that pierced straight through its rapidly expanding mouth.
What had seed like an oblivious Steven now stood holding a handgun, the barrel still trailing faint smoke. He looked at the creature with a disdainful expression.
"I thought you were going to say so dying words or sothing. Turns out it was just a boring little trap, huh?"
Shaking his head in disappointnt, Steven glanced at the grotesque monster that no longer resembled its original form. Its appearance couldn't help but remind him of the alien monstrosities in an R-rated movie he had watched years ago called The Thing.
Its disguise had been convincing—Steven hadn't noticed anything suspicious in its appearance. The problem, however, was that he couldn't possibly ignore the health bar above its head or the blood-red text floating above it:
[Lone Collapsal Host Body]
Steven didn't know how it had managed to take over the old man's body so quickly, but from the mont he saw it, he knew the old man was beyond saving.
The only reason he hadn't shot imdiately was because he wanted to see if the creature could pull off anything interesting. But judging by what just happened, he had clearly overestimated it.
In the end, it was just another trap.
The monster, despite having its head blasted apart by the bullet, let out a screech from its mouth. Its severed parts began writhing violently, and before long, a brand-new head sprouted where the old one had been.
"Humans." "Death." "Inevitable."
At monts like this, Steven couldn't help but appreciate the power of the language localization Mod. What sounded like a aningless roar from the creature had been conveniently translated into clear words for him. Truly considerate.
"I'll 'inevitable' you," Steven replied sarcastically.
Now that he had found his target, Steven had no intention of being polite. He drew out another handgun, wasting no ti in aiming at the creature's head and unleashing a barrage of bullets as though ammo cost him nothing.
The .50 caliber rounds tore through the monster, leaving gaping wounds across its grotesque form. The creature seed stunned by the relentless onslaught, its body writhing but unable to retaliate effectively.
Or rather, it seed to want to attack but was incapable of doing so. Each ti it extended its tentacles, a precisely aid bullet would sever the joints, rendering them useless.
However, there was only so much ammo a single handgun could hold. Steven hadn't equipped his guns with infinite ammo mods or anything fancy like that. Soon enough, both of his guns ran dry.
Before Steven could reload, the monster—having endured the barrage and biding its ti—saw an opportunity. It opened its twisted, writhing mass of flesh, resembling a giant gaping maw, and lunged at him. Its intent was clear: to swallow and digest Steven on the spot.
Despite its speed, the attack was rely "sowhat fast" in Steven's eyes. Nowhere near fast enough to catch him off guard.
Calmly reloading his guns, Steven realized that the bullets he was using were only capable of suppressing the creature's attacks, not actually killing it.
A different approach was needed.
Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a few dark green grenades. Without hesitation, he yanked the pins and casually tossed them into the gaping maw of the oncoming monster.
Movies always depicted it this way, and Steven couldn't quite understand why these creatures felt the need to open their mouths so wide during an attack. Were they inviting people to throw sothing in?
Shaking his head in bemusent, Steven stepped back, swiftly retreating beyond the creature's attack range.
The monster, having lunged at where Steven had been standing, bit into the soil beneath, tearing out a chunk in frustration. But it wasn't long before it realized it had swallowed sothing it shouldn't have.
"Next ti, rember: you can say whatever you want, but you definitely shouldn't eat just anything," Steven quipped, arms crossed as he watched from the side.
Before he could even finish his sentence, the creature twisted and deford violently, swelling like an overinflated balloon. Monts later, it exploded from within with a deafening boom.
< >
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