Amazon Apocalypse: Chapter 40 (Patreon)

The sun blazed high in the sky, casting long shadows on the cracked pavement streets of Crownhill. Sakura and I raced through the town, our hearts thundering with adrenaline as we fought to rescue the people from the clutches of the Wolfmen that had swarmed the city. The last few days of work making something livable out of the ruins here had been undone in hours, and the acrid scent of smoke and blood filling the air.

Sakura forged ahead, her instincts driving her to protect the innocent. Her hot-headedness and impulsive nature made her a formidable force, and she made short work of every Wolfman we encountered.

“Stick behind me, Carter!” Sakura shouted more than once as she charged into the fray. It felt odd to be the protected one who fought from a distance, while Sakura wielded her club for brutal melee combat.

But it was hard to argue with Sakura’s incredible physical stats. As I continued to put stats into abilities that empowered my magic, I suspected this dynamic between the two of us would continue. I was a caster, and she was my tank. She drew all our enemies toward her, and I dispatched them.

Together, we had saved most of the townsfolk, ushering them to secure locations throughout Crownhill as we scoured the city clean of Wolfmen. These creatures were more cunning than the monsters we were used to facing, and they worked in unison to overwhelm our defenses. They figured out I was the one to target more than once, but I slipped away long enough for Sakura to force them to engage her instead.

It worked incredibly well for us, though I would have felt more comfortable if Sakura had someone to watch her back when she was in the thick of things.

As we traversed the devastated streets, I couldn't shake the nagging question: What did the Wolfmen plan to do with their captives?

Sakura, her muscles rippling beneath her skin, leaped onto the ruins of buildings and swung her colossal club with lethal precision, smashing a Wolfman into pieces after no more than a single Mana Bolt from me.

I focused my arcane abilities on taking out the strongest Wolfmen, hitting them with Corrupting Marks that could be detonated later. The lingering damage those marks left nullified the incredible natural regeneration most of these Wolfmen had, which made putting them down a lot easier for Sakura.

Our bond grew stronger, our teamwork more fluid with each passing moment. We were two parts of a greater whole, and our combined force seemed unstoppable. We made the city safe again even quicker than we had the first time.

Sakura and I returned to the police station after more than an hour of running around chasing off bands of Wolfmen. By now the streets were mostly clear, and I was sweaty, tired, and dirty. Sakura was the same, though she certainly didn’t look it thanks to her charisma bonuses.

Survivors gathered, seeking refuge, while Sheriff Drayton rallied them together, looking large and imposing all the while. In his uniform with his badge on and his sidearm holstered at his hip, he cut an authoritative enough figure that people obeyed his orders without question.

Drayton's hostile glare met me, but I shrugged it off. "Ignore him," I whispered to Sakura. "We'll be leaving soon."

Sakura nodded. "I think I’m looking forward to quiet time back at the farmhouse, Carter.”

Before we retreated to our little safe haven, we had to ensure Crownhill could stand on its own. The occasional supply run required the town's stability. While I planned to stay away from the settlement for the most part, we still had friends here, and I wanted to ensure it was safe and stable.

A weary woman approached, gratitude in her voice. "Thank you for all you've done."

I barely remembered her from the people we’d saved, but I was pretty sure Sakura pulled her and her children out of a dumpster they’d been hiding in while Wolfmen roamed nearby.

"We do what we can," Sakura replied gently. "We're all in this together."

As we greeted a few more survivors, I spotted two familiar figures in the distance. Marcus and Frank. The two of them had been some of the gunners on the roofs of nearby buildings who’d help drive Wolfmen out of the core regions of town. They waved me up, and I used Power Jump to scale the side of the building. Sakura hopped up right behind me.

The two stepped back, surprised at our unusual entrance, but smiling none the less.

"Carter!" Marcus called out, waving excitedly. "It's great to see you!"

Frank nodded in agreement, a wide grin on his face. "We've been keeping an eye on things from up here, protecting civilians from the Wolfmen."

As we approached Marcus and Frank, I noticed a group of people standing with them, some of whom were my old subordinates. They greeted me in unison with a resounding, "Hello, Sir!"

I couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm, and I also noticed a few new faces among the crowd. "I see you've got some fresh recruits."

Frank nodded proudly, shoulder slumping after a day without coffee. "That's right. These folks want to fight. The sheriff only lets his deputies do the damage, and some civilians think he's trying to ensure his people have a level lead over the populace."

Marcus chimed in, "But our team here is just as tough as the sheriff's men by now. We've been training hard and making sure we're all prepared."

“Any wounded?” I asked.

Frank ran a hand along the hair at the nape of his neck. “A few. We’ll patch ourselves up as best we can.”

I shook my head. “Nonsense. We should check in with Doctor Roswell. He’s got a healing class, and I bet some of his assistants do too by this point.”

Marcus smiled. “And you should check in with Bridget. Last I heard, she was asking where you went.”

Sakura crossed her arms and smirked. “Hmf. I bet she was.”

“We should check in on her.” I ignored the possessive hand Sakura placed on my shoulder. “Take the wounded, as well as any civilians who might need medical treatment as well.”

***

As our group approached Doctor Roswell's clinic, we expected to find a bustling place of healing and refuge. Instead, a shocking sight awaited us. The clinic lay in ruins, the aftermath of a far more devastating attack than we had seen elsewhere in the city.

We exchanged horrified glances, the reality of the situation sinking in. Everyone at the clinic had been taken, and among them, I knew Bridget had been there. My heart pounded in my chest, a sudden panic gripping me as I feared for her safety.

"What happened here?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Marcus shook his head, his eyes scanning the wreckage. "We didn’t even think to check on the clinic. Sheriff Drayton was supposed to have this area locked down."

My lips curled up in a snarl. “Apparently the Sheriff didn’t have this place locked down as well as he thought.” My mild annoyance with Sheriff Drayton was starting to turn to distaste. I could live with him hating me if he still did his job well. But the fact that he let the healers of all places get raided by the Wolfmen was a mark against him in my book.

A growl echoed through the shattered remains of the building, alerting us to the presence of a few Wolfmen stragglers left behind. We readied ourselves for battle, holding out hope that maybe Bridget and perhaps a few of Doctor Roswell’s people had managed to mount a defense and hold on until now.

“Let’s clear the building,” I ordered. We headed in.

We moved systematically, searching every corner of the once-comfortable medical facility. Overturned chairs and discarded medical supplies littered the floor, some twisted and bent in the violence that had trashed the place.

In one room, I found the remnants of a makeshift barricade, a futile attempt at defense. Doctor Roswell and the clerks had fought for a while, it seemed. But not long enough to last until now.

As we delved deeper into the clinic, we encountered several Wolfmen lurking in the shadows. They snarled and bared their fangs, a menacing display of aggression that would have been terrifying for any party of humans in the city other than the four of us.

I fired a Mana Bolt into the Wolfman’s throat and Sakura bashed its head in before Frank and Marcus could so much as draw their weapons. The fight was over as quickly as it began. We dealt with all three Wolfmen still in the building just as quickly as the first.

"Everyone okay?" I asked, scanning the faces of my companions.

"We're fine," Sakura replied, wiping her brow. "But we still haven't found anyone."

Despite our thorough search, we found no sign of Bridget, Doctor Roswell, or any of the other missing people. But I took that as a good sign.

“The only bodies we found belonged to the zombies Doctor Roswell was experimenting on. Which is a good sign. It means they were likely all taken alive."

The others weren't as exited by my words as I hoped. And sensing my own tone, neither was mine. With no signs of our friends within the clinic, there was only one thing to do, and little time to waste in doing it.

"We can track them down," I said, determination welling up inside me.

Sakura, Frank, and Marcus nodded, their expressions resolute. Together, we embarked on the hunt for Bridget, Doctor Roswell, and all the missing clinic workers. Their bodies weren't in the ruins, so we had to believe they were still alive. Likely taken to be sacrifices for the Wolfmen, whatever that meant.

Marcus had a new tracking skill he was eager to show off, so he took the lead, guiding us out of the city. I could see the concentration etched on his face as he scanned the ground for any signs of the missing people.

The scent of damp grass and earth filled my nostrils, a stark contrast to biting bleach-like smell of the destroyed clinic. The sensation was oddly grounding, and I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the journey ahead.

Sakura walked beside me, her eyes scanning the area, ever watchful for any potential threats. I could sense the tension in her stance, the coiled energy that lay just beneath the surface. I knew she would fight fiercely to protect those she cared for, and I was pretty sure I was one of those lucky few. Maybe Bridget was too.

"We'll find them," she said, her voice steady and reassuring. “Bridget… was a good intern. I won’t let anything bad happen to her. If she wasn’t so stupidly hot, I would have hired her as a regular after she graduated.”

I bit back a snort. "We'll bring them home, no matter what it takes."

As the darkness deepened as the sun sank further in the sky. Though it was still bright within the city, the dense forest outside of town grew darker. But Marcus led us onward with his tracking skill. We piled into my truck, since his skill worked just as well from inside it as it did outside.

“We’re getting closer,” Marcus said, eyes never leaving the ground. “I can sense it.”

Marcus' must have been sensing more than he thought, because mere moments after speaking the words, chaos erupted in the woods all around us. I saw the bracelet I made around Sakura's wrist start to glow. And yet there was nothing in the woods nearby to my senses.

That could only mean one thing.

"Ambush!" I shouted. Sakura and I leaped into action immediately. Frank followed a moment later with a familiar sword in hand. Marcus drew his pistol a moment later.

Wolfmen charged at the car from the shadows all around us as the forest erupted with growels. How had they snuck so close to us? They must have had skills just as specialized as our own.

Wolfmen charged at us from the shadows, their vicious eyes fixed on me in particular. A significant number of these Wolfmen brandished knives, far more than the usual one or two we encountered. This group was evidently smarter than their more feral counterparts. No wonder they all targeted the vulnerable mage.

Unfortunately for them, squishy or not, I still held a considerable advantage in levels over most of them, even if these appeared to be the Wolfman Elite. I channeled my energy and unleashed my magic, casting Corrupting Marks to weaken the advancing Wolfmen. Sakura wielded her club with devastating force, leaving crimson streaks in the wake of her relentless assault.

With ferocious momentum, she launched herself forward. The strength of her leap left a foot-shaped dent in the frame of my car. She struck down one Wolfman after another as they lunged for me. Seizing the opportunity she provided, I unleashed an Eldritch Blast on one and a Mana Bolt on another. By now, I was well-versed in exploiting the Wolfmen's weaknesses, whether I used Exploit Weakness or not, and I continued to chip away at them with my spells.

"Holy shit!" Marcus exclaimed, finally grasping the magnitude of the Wolfmen closing in on us. There were at least a dozen, their levels ranging between fourteen and twenty. We were as outnumbered as we'd been during that survivor rescue, but this time, the Wolfmen were stronger.

I couldn't afford to hold back in the slightest. I activated Study, focusing for a brief moment. Whether it was practice or the sheer urgency of the situation, my Mania responded effortlessly when summoned. And when I pushed further, it propelled me a step beyond.

Mania increased to level 1: Dissonance.

Mania increased to level 2: Furor.

You delve into the depths of chaos as you prepare to unleash the secrets of the multiverse upon your enemies. But as your power grows, so too does the strain on your mind.

All Scholar of Forbidden Knowledge abilities are enhanced by 40%

I splayed my hands wide, and this time, instead of firing one spell from each hand, the tips of my first three fingers lit up together—three with Mana Bolt and three with Eldritch Blast. The spells soared, each striking their targets as they sought vulnerable eyes and throats, clearly marked in my vision.

The Wolfmen breached Sakura's defenses then, but it didn't matter. They lunged for where I'd been standing, only to grasp empty air. I'd used Warp Step to appear behind them just a moment before.

I landed near one of the strongest, a level seventeen wielding a dagger in each hand. He turned toward me, but I used Eldritch Augmentation to convert all my magical might into overwhelming physical power for just an instant.

The Wolfman let out a startled bark as I gripped its muzzle in one hand and the back of its head with the other. I twisted with a sharp and sudden jerk, intending to break the Wolfman's neck. Instead, the entire head popped off in my grasp.

Sounds reached my ears then. Cries of shock and surprise from my allies, yelps of fear from the Wolfmen, and, loudest of all, sharp, stark laughter. It took me a moment to realize the laughter was my own. When had I started laughing? It had to have been shortly after I activated Furor.

Neither side had time to gawk or stare for long. Despite my sudden display of might, we were still outnumbered.

Sakura widened her stance, planting her feet as she employed one of her skills to make herself immovable. Then she unleashed a wordless bellow of rage that shook the Wolfmen where they stood. Her breaths came in great heaving gasps, and each swing doubled in strength and speed.

No longer merely breaking bones, her blows now swept Wolfmen off their feet and sent them flying in all directions. Her brows furrowed in fierce anger, and her skin took on the same ruddy luster as her horn.

Marcus and Frank used a few of their own abilities. Both had acquired a class, though neither had advanced as far as Sakura and I. Each of them was a match for any one of the Wolfmen around us, leaving the remaining ten for Sakura and me to handle.

I became a whirlwind of mana and spells. Attacks flew from my fingertips as I darted between our enemies, avoiding their grasping claws and stone daggers. We killed two more that way, and my marks accumulated enough to offset the Wolfmen's natural regeneration.

Marcus and Frank looked tired and winded, but Sakura raged on. A few bloody gashes lined her arms and cheeks, but she shrugged off the wounds, seemingly even more enraged by them. If things continued this way, we would soon claim victory despite the overwhelming odds.

But things did not remain that way.

From the nearby underbrush, another figure emerged. He bore the form of a Wolfman, but his presence surpassed that of his kin. He seemed larger and stronger by leaps and bounds, and unlike the others, he wore long leather belts that crisscrossed his body.

Each of these belts was lined with tools, the most common of which were the obsidian daggers that distinguished some Wolfmen as less feral than the rest. If those who carried daggers were more dangerous, then this one was even deadlier.

"Human," the Wolfman said, enunciating words carefully through sharpened canine teeth. "You will make a very good sacrifice."

I got a good look at him then, taking in both his appearance and his level.

Alpha Wolfman (Level 25)