As Nula and the others navigated the ruins of the city, avoiding narrow streets and cramped spaces, they came across a small chapel. It looked almost fully intact despite having long been abandoned by the residents. Vina gestured for them to stop, pointing at the chapel. Inside its dimly lit pews sat a human-like figure, as if in prayer. The group got ready, with Peeros swiftly moving in to check the surroundings for other Decadents. Once he confirmed that there were none nearby, he gave Nula and Vina a thumbs-up. With that, Vina initiated the attack, skillfully navigating around the figure, making sure she remained unseen.
Nula followed along, crouching down and avoiding the rays of the sun by using the thick pillars of the chapel. Vina peeked through the pew to see what the figure truly was—and it was no man. Its head was a skull protruding with spikes, the mandibles missing, the skull and torso connected by a neck made of thick muscle fibers with no skin. Its chest and back were pure muscle fibers, while its abdomen and limbs resembled those of a normal person.
"It's a Decadent," Vina whispered.
"Decadents"—a term used for humans who were mutated into monsters by the miasma, an invisible force brought upon mankind when they tried playing God a few decades ago. Now, they aimlessly wander the ruins of the old world, trying to recreate moments from their past lives.
Vina prepared the ambush, gripping two escrima sticks—each fashioned with metal braces and spikes. As she held them, small veins began to form along the surface, spreading toward the ends of the sticks. By gripping them, she activated the weapons' "Properties," reinforcing their durability.
The Decadent, sensing Vina's bloodlust, turned around and pointed its palm toward the pews. A narrow slit opened at the center of its hand, and from it, condensed flesh and bone shot out like high-caliber bullets, tearing through the wooden furniture and leaving a splash of blood on the floor. But Vina was too fast—she darted around the projectiles with ease, moving in a swift arc around the Decadent. Meanwhile, Nula dashed toward its blind spot, positioning himself directly behind the creature.
"VINA!" Nula shouted, momentarily drawing the Decadent's attention—just long enough for Vina to hurl her stick through its upper shoulder, completely decimating it. As the weapon pierced through flesh, Nula caught it mid-flight with his right hand, reactivating its properties before hurling it back toward Vina. The stick struck the Decadent's right thigh, throwing it off balance.
Nula's Skull Cleaver begins to form veins and pulsate as if it's thirsting for blood, and with that, both charged at the Decadent. Vina struck first, pulverizing its abdomen as guts splattered across the chapel floor. Nula followed through with a clean slash, severing its upper torso.
The creature collapsed in a pool of its own blood and entrails—but Vina didn't stop. She reactivated her weapon's properties and continued pummeling the corpse without hesitation.
The Decadents come in all shapes and sizes—some with armor-like shells, others with the ability to fly, and a few that can even breathe fire. Unfortunately for them, the one thing they all share is their regenerative ability. To deal with this efficiently, the Huntsmen developed a specialized strategy known as "The Love Triangle." This formation involves three members: one serves as the "Watcher," tasked with monitoring the surrounding area for threats, while the other two—called "Participants"—ambush the Decadent and relentlessly pummel it again and again until its regeneration finally gives out.
Vina stopped her assault. Breathing heavily, she let out a deep sigh. "I think... I think it's dead," she said, her hand beginning to shake.
"Looks like you overused your properties. That's a bad habit of yours," Nula said with a serious expression.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, the Decadent was merely waiting for the right moment to strike. As Vina let her guard down, it twisted its arm and aimed straight for her head. With quick reflexes, Vina dodged the projectile by tilting her head—though it scraped her left cheek as it flew past.
"Vina, get back!" Nula shouted, reactivating his weapon. But it was too late—the Decadent had already entered its Fever State.
They say a cornered prey is the most dangerous—and the same holds true for Decadents. There's a reason why Huntsmen rely on ambushes: if a Decadent takes enough damage and is still conscious...
Then all hell breaks loose.
The Decadent, realizing its life was in danger, quickly began to reform its head and upper torso—starting with its eyes and arms. With the creature on its last legs, a surge of power coursed through its veins. It raised a newly formed arm just in time to block Nula's cleaver from taking its head, even with the weapon's properties fully activated. The cleaver struck deep, but instead of pulling away, the Decadent enveloped it with its regenerating flesh, trapping it in place.
Peeros, seeing the situation grow dire, stepped in to assist the two. "I—I'm coming!" he shouted. But before he could act, the Decadent began not only reforming its body but also unleashed grotesque, worm-like creatures from the puddle of blood to fend off Vina and Peeros. These worms had human-like skin riddled with warts and pus along their lower halves, while their heads were exposed muscle fibers crowned with gaping mouths full of teeth. Lacking eyes, the worms thrashed about erratically, tearing through the chapel's weakened foundations as they searched for their prey.
Meanwhile, the Decadent began forming its lower half—but instead of regenerating a normal abdomen and legs, the flesh twisted and coiled, shaping into another worm-like creature. The Decadent itself anchored at the mouth of the beast, taking the place of its tongue. Slowly, it raised its palm toward Nula, as if offering him something. Its forearm began to bulge grotesquely, and a gaping hole opened in the center of its palm.
"Shit," Nula whispered, raising his arms to shield his face while bracing his abdomen for impact. The Decadent then fired a ball of flesh and bone the size of a fist. Its arm rippled and bled from the force of the shot. In a split-second decision, Nula angled his body so the projectile would strike the bandaged area beneath his shirt. The impact sent him flying across the street, crashing through the walls and pillars of a nearby building.
Nula was left gasping for air as he checked the extent of the damage to his abdomen. Luckily, aside from a nasty bruise, the bandage had managed to keep the attack from completely blowing a hole through his stomach. The Decadent didn't waste a second, slithering toward Nula with the intent to finish him off. With no means of defense, Nula lifted a broken pillar and hurled it at the creature. Still reeling from the hit, he missed—his throw too slow—allowing the Decadent to easily slither around the projectile.
Meanwhile, Peeros, realizing that the worm-like creatures weren't as strong as the Decadent's original form, raised his blade and activated its properties. The five-foot-long blade began to form veins, emanating a bloodlusting aura. With a battle cry, he screamed, "VINA, GET DOWN!" Without hesitation, Vina crouched, lowering her head as Peeros unleashed a barrage of horizontal slashes. Blood, guts, and bone flew in all directions as the sound of steel striking bone filled the chapel.
When Vina opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded by blood and gore. On one of the pews, Peeros was slumped, out of breath, with his arms shaking from exhaustion.
"Peeros... Always so reckless, hehe..." Vina said. However, before Peeros could respond, a loud rumble echoed from the neighboring building.
It was the Decadent, now in its worm form, biting down on Nula's left hand. The Decadent frantically shook Nula atop the building, trying to rip his hand off like stale meat. Nula, however, clenched his teeth and braced his arm, doing his best to stop the Decadent from chewing it off.
Seeing this, Vina activated her escrima sticks and threw one towards Nula. "HEADS UP!" she screamed.
Nula, realizing the moment, stopped clenching his forearm and pulled on it instead. The flesh between his forearm and biceps grew thinner and thinner until it finally tore, allowing the beast to claim his left arm. Meanwhile, Nula caught the stick with his right hand.
"DON'T FORGET YOUR FUCKING DESERT!" Nula shouted as he broke through the worm-like creatures' teeth, coming face to face with the Decadent. His heart pumping with adrenaline, he unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks, turning the Decadent into paste. He didn't stop there, though—he kept smashing through the worm-like creatures' insides, tearing through its guts and organs until he broke through its skin. Freed from the creature's body, he used its intestines to cushion his fall, as blood and bones rained down around him.
Vina and Peeros slowly approached Nula, only to find him digging through the pile of guts on the floor—searching for his left arm.
"Glad you made it out alive! And here we thought you'd lose another limb," Vina said in a sarcastic tone.
"If that happens, I'm pretty sure Liba would execute me. A trinket can't be used to power another trinket," Nula replied. "Now come help me find my arm."
"True, true. But still, it's amazing what the occult can do! They managed to create fully functioning prosthetics from a dead corpse. The guy who invented this must be an angel!" Vina joked as she pulled the skull cleaver from the Decadent's guts.
"N-Not really," Peeros muttered as he made another incision through the creature's belly, spilling even more guts. "It's because of conflict. Conflict breeds innovation. Huntsmen—people like us—are hard to make. The ritual to 'awaken' a human has a fifty-fifty chance of death. So these prosthetics were created to bring injured Huntsmen back into action."
"Plus, it itches and hurts like hell. The only time it's comfortable to use is when we're about to fight—because the adrenaline blocks out the pain," Nula said, wiping the sweat from his face.
"Okay! Okay! You guys are such downers; I was just trying to make conversation," Vina huffed as she tossed Nula's prosthetic arm at him.
Nula caught it and attached it to his stump. The prosthetic began to sprout small tendrils that pierced into his skin. He winced as a sharp pain shot through him—the tendrils worming their way through muscle, as if searching for the exact veins to latch onto.
"I'll never get used to that," Nula muttered, his face twitching from the pain.
"Well then, buzzkills, shall we go?" Vina said, lifting the skull from the Decadent using her stick— a morbid proof of their kill. The trio then packed up and prepared for their next target.