Evil

Merciless to Oneself

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Thud!

"Damn!" I groaned as I fell out of the tree, my back slamming on the quaking ground. My breathing was rapid as I shot up, eyes darting around for immediate signs of danger.

I crawled to grab the bear's claw, my makeshift dagger at the moment.

The rain had stopped, the light smell of morning dew and petrichor mixed into an ineffable fragrance. If it hadn't been for the rude awakening, I would have spent a few moments basking in the tranquility.

"You just had to interrupt my beauty sleep." I murmured, annoyed at whatever was causing this.

Birds flew overhead, cawing loudly as the trembling worsened. I heard the snapping of trees as if they were mere twigs, the low growling of a beast.

It was in the direction I was meant to be heading. Though I didn't want to make any assumptions—It was probably the King of the Forest I was asked to kill.

I scaled a tree to take a good look and came face to face with a titan.

Standing at more than five hundred metres, its bulky frame was a sight to behold paired with its golden skin's dulled lustre under dawn's light. Two tusks sprouted from its mouth, two onyx eyes glaring me down with murderous intent. Its head was bald, devoid of hair, replaced by a singular horn that resembled ivory. The four muscular arms, two on its back, larger than giraffes, were a terrifying sight. If I were struck by that, death would be the only end result.

"Oh for chrissakes," I let out a shaky breath, my legs feeling weak,"How the hell am I supposed to kill that?" I was a mere ant in its eyes. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I could use this to my advantage.

I had played a few games in my life, some RPGs, some Survival-Horror genre titles, some VRMMORPGs. I hoped to hell that the weak spots giving critical still applied.

"Okay. Okay. So eyes and neck. The neck is a no go." Its neck was thicker than a two cars' width. No way in hell some measly claw was going to tear through enough thick leathery skin to make it bleed out. The vines were not even enough to tie a knot around the old bastard's pinky, let alone its neck.

That left the only exposed and vulnerable area: the eyes.

The issue was, how the hell was I going to get to the eyes?

I carefully sized up the giant. My eyes zeroed in on its hairs. They were lengthy and hopefully sturdy enough to bear my weight.

"There's my entry ticket," I muttered to myself quietly as I slid down the tree, make quick work of the jungle, closing the distance between us,"This reward better be worth it."

With my mind fixated on reaching the giant and getting the hell out of this god forsaken forest, I nearly ran straight into a leopard-like creature.

"Outta my way you little shit!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, using my momentum to deliver a crushing blow to the beast, not bothering to pick it up as I stormed onward unrelentingly.

Soon, I arrived at the base of the giant—It's feet.

I dried my hands as best as I could on the damp clothes, wiping sweat off my brow,"Oh boy. Okay. Let's just get this over with."

I grabbed onto one of the hairs and began to scale the beast,"W-Woah!" A single move from the giant meant I was dangling tens of metres off the ground.

Though I wouldn't die if I fell per say, climbing would be out of the question for a while afterwards.

I steeled my nerves, the triangles on my hand glowing intently as the sun rose. My hands clung onto the hairs for dear life. I daren't look down lest my attention slipped and I fell to my untimely demise below.

"Haah...Haah..." I panted softly as I finally reached its shoulder.

It was a rather surreal moment. The vast expanse below, numerous a kingdom in the far horizon beneath purple skies and teal clouds. I was literally standing on the shoulder of a giant.

I shook my head violently, my mind cleared of tiredness. There was work to do, the sightseeing could wait. I had a giant to kill.

I had one shot at this. To take the bastard down by surprise was my only way to kill it.

Despite feeling rejuvenated, the scaling hundreds of metres on a giant that moved without safety equipment was mentally and physically taxing.

I grabbed onto the horn on its head as I ascended to the 'summit', catching my breath as a bear's claw appeared in my hand. I kissed it for good luck, praying that it would be enough to rip through the eye.

I looked down, mentally preparing myself. Getting up here was the easy part. Now came the part where my courage would be called into question.

I grinned fearlessly, a feral glint in my eyes as I held onto the claw tightly.

If I failed in slaying the beast, so be it. It would merely be a setback. But if I was a coward and decided to give up, then I wouldn't have gotten this far. I would be just like the other guy, running away from the tiger and bear.

Flexing my arms, I licked my lips as another claw appeared in my left hand,"I wonder...What sound would a giant make as it dies?" Murderous intent flowed like water in rapids as I jumped off from the head.

My eyes were wide open as I came eye-to-eye with the giant itself, its eyes widening in surprise as it saw what seemed to be a mere ant before its eyes.

"DIE!" I screamed out, my voice shrill as it raised several octaves, the two claws in my hands stabbing straight into the left eye, slicing through it effortlessly as I slid down the length of the eye.

I laughed in exhilaration, electrified as shivers shot down my spine, my arms rapidly being sapped of strength as it thrashed violently, letting out a guttural roar of agony.

As I saw its hand reaching to smash me, I grinned and let go of my grip. Now I left it up to fate.

My plan was mutually assured destruction. I would jump down and stab the claw into its eye and force it down at much as possible, falling to the ground in the process while hopefully blinding it.

But that was fine. I had three lives. The giant only had one. To achieve success—One must not only be merciless to others but to oneself as well.

My frail body smashed into the floor violently, a fountain of blood spurting from my mouth as numerous sickening cracks sounded in my ears, the torturous, agonising pain made my body convulse which only served to magnify my pain.

Is this how that guy felt when I crushed him with that hydraulic press? I thought to myself as my vision darkened.

I didn't expect to die so soon and so willingly just a day after my execution.

I closed my eyes.

Two lives remain.

A monotonous voice spoke in my head as I blinked.

I moved my fingers. Then my toes. My eyes cracked open as the ground shook mightily, fissures appearing on the ground.

I sat up, my bones had mended, muscles no longer torn or fatigued. My breathing was light as my gaze settled on the motionless figure of the giant.

A grin bloomed on my face as a soft chuckle escaped my lips.

Success.