Chapter 11: Turmoil 3
A human, by their physical composition and structure, is considered among the weakest creatures in existence. Compared to other creatures, you'll find them inferior in everything… except for one thing, which allowed them to dominate and sit on the throne of rule in this primitive world.
The other creatures, whether hostile or friendly, always retreated before human intervention, even though they possessed bodies capable of crushing humans and making an example of them. However, one thing prevented this fate… a great thing, exclusive to humans alone: the mind.
The ability to think logically and calculate every step before taking it was his hidden weapon. This is what gave him control over life on this planet, and also… what brought us to where we are now.
Rubble, natural disasters, death… all these results were nothing but the fruit of human actions and choices. Creatures physically weak, but mentally superior.
I say "superior" only compared to non-sentient beings, for if a human faced a predatory animal, they would undoubtedly tear it apart, except in some rare cases.
And today… this world, built on the foundation of the scientific and logical superiority of sentient beings, witnessed the birth of the first being that shatters this natural standard.
Aiden… a young man not yet twenty. An exploration trip was the last thing he saw of the old world flourishing with science, before the catastrophe, in a few short hours, erased the achievements of hundreds of years.
A young man who entered, out of curiosity, a familiar place… and emerged from it with something legendary: skills.
Skills like in cartoons… like in games…
And now, he stands before a legion of creatures he knows as "invaders."
Apart from them being a group of humanoid rabbits, which might seem funny when thought about, Aiden didn't hesitate for a single moment.
The enemy… is an enemy.
Their form or origin doesn't matter. This is what he was raised on since childhood, or even from what he saw in online works.
Without understanding, he grabbed the first weapon he found and attacked before the enemy realized what was happening. After all… offense is half of defense.
And now, he stands over the corpse of one of those invaders.
A pierced head, a skull that didn't withstand the blow, scattered blood… the scene was shocking. But the shock wasn't for him, but for the rabbit soldiers who froze in their places before their astonishment turned into pure terror.
They had entered a place they shouldn't have… after all, their leader and strongest among them fell with a single blow, from the first person they faced in this world.
Fear began to creep into their hearts, while Aiden was touching his body and making sure… he was trembling.
But it wasn't a tremor of fear or joy… but a tremor of shock. He had killed for the first time.
And even though the victim was just a rabbit, its humanoid features made the matter different.
In a time before the catastrophe, Aiden would have been in prison, awaiting a life sentence or even execution. But here… there was no law.
Nothing prevented him from killing, stealing, or any other action…
"Alright, not to that extent…" he muttered lightly.
The law now is strength. Whoever has a stronger fist… whoever has a harder heart…
Aiden looked long at the corpse before him, contemplating the dead hand, the pierced head, the blood, and the leaking brain… it was a terrifying shape. Then he lowered his gaze to the iron rod in his hand, saw the blood dripping from it, his tight grip on it, and the strength of his arm still tense.
He took a deep breath, then raised his head towards the army of rabbits before him.
He no longer had any reservations… no fear of authority, no law, not even the idea of killing.
He took one step forward… but it wasn't an ordinary step. It was as if hundreds of kilograms pressed on the ground, scattering dust and leveling the soil under his feet, then… he disappeared! Or so it seemed to them.
*Whoosh!*
A strong pressure wave launched towards the rabbit army, met with cautious looks and a loud scream:
"Form the—"
*Screech!*
The rabbit couldn't complete his word before something cut his mouth from one side to the other, tearing it completely.
"Aaah!"
A scream of pain, terror, and rejection of reality…
The remaining soldiers retreated a step back, their eyes shifting between the flying blood and the void left by their torn companion's body.
They didn't even see where the attack came from, nor how Aiden moved… but they all understood one thing: they were facing a monster, not a human.
"Retreat!"
One of them shouted with a trembling voice, but his cry was weightless, as he wasn't even given time to draw his sword…
*Whoosh!*
His body rose two meters in the air before falling to the ground at a strange angle, his neck twisted unnaturally.
Aiden didn't speak… he didn't need to speak. His eyes were gleaming with that cold look that held no pity.
He moved again, not with ordinary speed, but as if he disappeared from one place and appeared in another.
The screams rose, and the swords were raised, but it was too late.
*Schlik!*
A single blow tore through the chest of one, scattering his entrails on the muddy ground.
The gasp of terror that erupted from their throats wasn't even completed before the situation turned into utter chaos; some tried to flee, while others froze in place, as if their feet were glued to the ground.
Aiden didn't chase the fleeing ones… yet.
He was focusing on those still standing, as if they represented a challenge to him.
He pounced on two at once, his left fist shattered the face of one, while the iron rod in his right hand pierced the head of the other from under the chin until it exited from the top of the skull, and blood gushed like a red fountain.
The rest retreated, trying to organize their ranks, but the atmosphere became suffocating.
The smell of blood, the sounds of choking, the sound of trembling footsteps… all created a moment where there was no hope left.
Aiden raised his head slightly, looked at the cold moon in the sky, then threw the corpse hanging on his weapon to the ground, making a heavy thud.
*Boom!*
He smiled lightly… a smile that wasn't entirely human.
Tonight… was no longer a night of survival for the rabbits.
It had become the night of the hunter.