Just as they were about to reach the shore, Cheetu's voice cut through the air. "Time's up. The slowest player is out of the game." Swish! C
Just as they were about to reach the shore, Cheetu's voice cut through the air.
"Time's up. The slowest player is out of the game."
Swish! Crack! The slightly lagging man, hearing Cheetu's voice, turned sharply. In that instant, his world seemed to tilt and spin.
Thud! He collapsed onto the shore, blood spurting from his neck.
A bloody head rolled onto the frozen lake, splattering a crimson stain onto Loki's freshly dried cloak.
The other man, terrified by his companion's sudden, brutal death, stumbled and fell. He stared in sheer horror at Cheetu, who stood menacingly on the frozen lake surface.
Cheetu surveyed the terrified man, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.
The most entertaining aspect of hunting humans, for Cheetu, was watching their fear escalate with each passing second, reaching a fever pitch at the moment of death.
The expressions of utter terror and despair as death approached were endlessly fascinating.
Often, in their desperate struggle for survival, humans would resort to desperate, even amusing, measures – pushing each other aside, abandoning their fallen companions to escape alone.
What Cheetu found particularly amusing was the fleeting mixture of relief and renewed terror on a survivor's face after witnessing a companion's demise, the knowledge that they were next in line for death dawning upon them.
It was as if they were trapped in a slow, agonizing vortex, desperately struggling against an inescapable fate, yet clinging to the improbable hope of a miracle.
Cheetu, content with the man's current state of terror, turned his head, his gaze settling on Loki, who was calmly tending to his campfire, only glancing at Cheetu briefly before returning to his task.
'Excellent luck. Another prey has presented itself.' Cheetu carefully observed Loki, but his initial excitement soon waned.
He sensed no powerful life energy radiating from the boy; he was just an ordinary human. With only one plaything remaining, the game had become rather dull.
He decided to break the other man's leg, forcing him to flee with the human child – that would make for a more interesting spectacle.
Cheetu approached Loki. "Kid, get up! I hereby declare you a participant in my game. Run with that human. Fastest one wins; slowest one dies every ten minutes."
Loki remained silent. Cheetu, misinterpreting the silence as fear, chuckled. "Don't worry, you're just an ordinary kid. You can't outrun that exceptional human. For fairness..."
Cheetu turned to the man who had just scrambled to his feet. "Let's break your leg! You exceptional humans are far stronger than ordinary humans; a broken leg shouldn't be a problem."
The man instinctively recoiled, preparing to plead for mercy.
However, his display of terror only served to heighten Cheetu's amusement.
Bang! Bang! Crack! Crack!
Cheetu's movements were swift and brutal. Before the man could utter a word of protest, Cheetu had already snapped both his legs.
The man collapsed to the ground, his eyes bloodshot with agony.
Cheetu nonchalantly cleaned his ears. "So annoying. Why do humans always scream after getting injured?" He clapped his hands. "Alright, alright! Let's get this game back on track!"
The man rolled on the ground, clutching his broken legs, unable to flee. Cheetu scowled. "If you don't run, I'll kill you!"
The threat proved ineffective. Cheetu turned to Loki, who was calmly sitting by the fire.
"Kid, didn't you hear me? Don't run, and I'll kill you!"
Loki's eyes briefly met Cheetu's, a calm indifference in their depths.
"Wait."
Loki meticulously cleaned and dried the bloodstain on his cloak. Cheetu watched him patiently, squatting on the ground. "Finished?"
He glanced at the despairing man on the ground, who still clung to a desperate hope of survival, his eyes pleading with Cheetu for mercy.
Cheetu turned back to Loki. "That guy's given up. You're not running? By the rules of this game, you're slightly behind him now."
Loki patted his clean cloak and slowly stood up.
Cheetu nodded. "Looks like you finally understand. Standing still means death."
Loki's actions filled the injured man with a fresh wave of despair. "Save me! Please save me! Don't leave me here! That monster will kill me!"
Loki turned his gaze to the man, his expression unreadable.
If Loki hadn't been mistaken, the cold glint in the man's eyes as he approached had revealed their plan: to use Loki as bait to buy themselves time.
However, Cheetu had been far faster.
Loki walked towards the injured man. Cheetu watched his movements. "Oh? Saving him? Useless. One of you dies in ten minutes. A broken leg won't kill you."
The injured man was taken aback; Cheetu was equally surprised.
"This kid's interesting," Cheetu mused.
Loki turned to Cheetu. "You're too noisy, too much talk. Like a fly."
Cheetu's eyes narrowed. "You dare compare me to a—"
Suddenly, Cheetu's words were cut short. His eyes widened in disbelief as Loki's figure blurred past him, impossibly fast. In an instant, Loki was gone.
Pshh! Cheetu felt a searing pain in his throat. He clutched at his neck, only to discover that Loki had ripped out his throat.
Blood poured from Cheetu's neck.
"Hsss... hsss..." Cheetu gasped, struggling to speak, his voice reduced to a mere rasp. He spun around, his eyes wide with disbelief, to see Loki standing behind him, holding a bloody piece of flesh – Cheetu's throat.
Purple blood stained Loki's hand.
Loki looked at the bloody flesh with undisguised disgust, tilting his head slightly.
"Impressive, even for a Chimera Ant. A human would be near death with their throat ripped out."
WHOOSH! A burst of flame instantly incinerated the flesh in Loki's hand.
Cheetu's eyes filled with bloodshot fury, a network of crimson veins spreading across the whites.
"Hsss... hsss..." 'I'll kill you!' Cheetu thought, his rage overwhelming him.
"What? I can't hear you!" Loki taunted, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
WHOOSH! Cheetu's killing intent exploded, his aura surging, transforming him into a blur as he launched a furious attack on Loki.
Facing Cheetu's onslaught, Loki calmly closed his eyes.
"Your fists are too weak." Cheetu's fists were mere inches from Loki's face...
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