The Eighth Sin

A whistle came from Darwin. "It's almost frightening how much you have improved. At first, you could only create a single small thorn, but now you can create several spikes. That Magi really knows his stuff." Darwin spoke up which caused Riyku's cheeks to turn a soft pink. "Honestly... You three are going to become fine men when you are older." He would add referring to Riyku and his brothers, Christina coming up beside Riyku to pat his head. "If Mina rejects you, I'll take you." Christina would comment which caused Riyku's face to turn beet red yet again. Apathy and Darwin sighed softly, Lesia giggling in the background. The wolf that was launched into the air finally came back down with a splat and a crack which caused them to look over at it. "And that's all of them. Time to pack up and--" Apathy was cut off guard when he felt an uneasy pain in his gut. His intuition as a Veteran Hunter kicking in which caused him to shout, Christina's name.

"Look at his face. The unique design of a Neuromorphic is always displayed upon the face." Apathy called back which caused Riyku to look upon the creature's face. Examining it for the unique design. It was there, in crimson red; a small N that could easily be mistaken for a scar. It was right upon the forehead of the creature. "Neuromorphics are hyper versions of their originals. Stronger, faster, more durable, and way smarter. Their growth is endless. By devouring the hearts of others they become stronger. However, Neuromorphic Lycans are the worst. Unlike standard Neuromorphics, the Neuromorphic Lycans hunt in groups like normal Lycans. You do remember why Neuromorphics don't hunt in groups right?" Apathy called out while his eyes trained upon the Lycan who was still eyeing the women; although, he seemed too relaxed even for someone who was surrounded.

"Umm... If a neuromorphic eats another neuromorphic they gain all of the strength of the one they ate, right?" Riyku replied and Apathy nodded with a "Correct." He then followed up with; "Which is what makes Neuromorphic Lycans the worst of them all. They hunt in packs, do not devour each other simply because their rule is first come first serve. Whoever gains the spoils keeps them and no one goes back on their word. A Lycan's pride still resides within them." Apathy would grit his teeth. "Which is why, if there is only one here. The rest of the pack is close by as well." He finished up which caused the Lycan to snicker.

"Smart Tribesmen. Although you are forgetting something." The Lycan would speak up as he rolled his shoulders. "The Alpha always hunts alone." The Lycan would leap forward, a powerful leap that showed just how faster he was. Darwin could barely keep up, but it seemed Apathy had already noticed that it was targeting Darwin. He moved in front of Darwin and used his spear to block a strike from the claw. For a moment the impact was stunned, but that was all. The attack broke through the spear which caused Apathy's eyes to go wide. He seemed prepared to accept his fate considering he was unable to actually move in time, yet the Lycan would shift his weight to evade a large gauntlet. "Lesia get Riyku out of here, return to the village and warn the others!" Apathy called out to Lesia who was standing in the back. "But!" She called back with her weapons in her hands. "Don't argue! Just go! That's an order!" Apathy shouted back. Lesia would turn her head in shame as she moved towards Riyku and reached for the child's hand. Riyku was still dazed in confusion. "Come on, we need to go!" Lesia called out to Riyku who was watching as the Lycan fended off various attacks from Apathy, Darwin, and Christina. Apathy was using the broken spear to try and pierce through the flesh, but it seemed to be ineffective. So he swapped over to his machete; Meanwhile, Darwin's arrows just bounced off like some kind of balled up piece of paper did when it hit the rim of a trash can. Christina's attacks were always evaded. Not once did one land, but that wasn't what caused Riyku's eyes to widen.

It was when the Lycan swiped off one of Christina's arms, before pushing her towards Darwin, to distract him while bringing his long arm around to remove the man's head. Apathy seemed to have tried to intervene out of rage but was killed off when the Lycan used its other claw to thrust into the man's gut and through his body. The echos of pain-filled screams filled not only his tiny ears but Lesia's as well; which faded as they put distance between them. Tears filled both of their eyes, and Riyku turned to look at Lesia. "Don't look back! Keep running!" Lesia would shout with her eyes upon the path before her. It would take nearly an hour to get back to the village by walking, but they were running. Sadly, their journey there was not going to be an easy one. Another Neurcromoprhic Lycan had intercepted them. Averaging the same height, and build as the previous one. The only difference was the coloration of the patches which were a solid blue and not a crimson red. Other than that it had the same N design upon its forehead.

Lesia stood between Riyku and the Lycan, drawing her weapons from the sheaths while eyeing the Lycan. "L-Lesia..." Riyku would call out meekly. The scene of what he had witnessed played into his mind but was replaced with Lesia. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." Lesia looked back at Riyku then to the Lycan who had a relaxed stance. "What do you want!?" The woman called out to the Lycan who snickered at her. Lifting a finger to point at her. "You, Woman." It was quite clear what his intentions were with the way he looked at the woman. The thing about Neuromorphics was that there were no females. All of them were male versions. So they normally took in women for enslavement and breeding since they had none of their own. While enslaving children so that they could later devour their hearts when they became stronger or use the women for breeding. As for men, they just killed them and ate the heart right away. One could normally tell how powerful a Neuromorphic was by gauging their body mass. The larger one was, the stronger they were. As for why Neuromorphics happened to only be male; the reasons were unknown. Although, one person happened to witness the birth of one and reported it. Saying the infant ate his way out of the womb of its mother, then devoured her heart. It wasn't much of a reason, but it was still a disgusting scene to witness.

Which was why Lesia's body trembled when she heard that. However, before she could make another move it seemed Riyku moved in front of her. "You can't have her!" Riyku shouted out which caused the Lycan to blink before looking down at the small child and laugh. "What you going to do about it, pipsqueak?" The Lycan retorted, taking an even more relaxed stance. "Shadows converge... Bathe me in your essences... empower me and give me strength... Shadow's Blessing!" Riyku would chant a short scripture that followed with the shadows feeling him up in a loving and caring manner. The Lycan's attitude shifted at that moment. No longer relaxed, but more on edge. Lesia looked down at Riyku. "A woman likes a Strong, Brave, and Honest man." The child bolstered as he brought his hands up, taking the stance of a martial artist. "I'll protect you, Lesia. I won't watch anyone else die!" Riyku exclaimed with tears in his eyes. The Lycan would growl before jumping towards him. Riyku would dash forward to intercept the jump, rivaling the speed of the Lycan which was on par with a cheetah's top speed. Riyku would push aside the claw that was stretched for his chest before bring his palm forward to slam into the gut of the Lycan. The sound of bones breaking along with the echoing of what was almost like a shotgun followed suit as the Lycan flew back into a tree.

The Lycan would slide down the now timbering tree with a dent in its gut from where Riyku hit him. Blood was dripping down the Lycan's muzzle as he eyed the boy approaching him. The beady pupils of the Lycan trembled as if he were frightened. The confusion and fear upon the Lycan's face were quite clear. It did not understand what had happened. It knew the boy was a threat but was unable to gauge just how powerful the boy was. Lesia was also quite shocked. When Riyku reached the Lycan he would bring his hand to the creature's chest. The Lycan seemed paralyzed by the attack it just took, so while it struggled to move its muscles only trembled. "Shadow Spear." Riyku would mutter as the shadow that enveloped his hand jutted outward, piercing through the Lycan and tearing into the heart.

The shadow spear would slowly begin to drink the essences of the heart, devouring it until nothing was left. However, Riyku would not know of this. After he confirmed the Lycan was dead he would remove his hand from the beast's chest to turn and look back at Lesia with a smile. "I did it Le--" He paused for a moment stumbling forward, with blurry vision. The shadowy cloak around him had disbursed and now he was feeling the after-effects of activating the spell. Lesia had dashed forward to catch the child, his face resting upon her bosom as she held him. Still surprised by what just happened, as well as how quickly it transpired. "You... are something. You know that?" In the end, though she smiled softly and brushed his hair gently while allowing him to rest considering he was now out cold. Lesia would glance from Riyku to look around the area and make sure nothing was around. From what she could tell there was nothing. No wild-life, no Lycans, no Neuromorphics. It was strange considering all the commotion that just happened. As well as the fact that there were usually six to a pack. So there had to be four more somewhere. It was then she realized what the first Lycan meant by saying he was the Alpha.

"Damn it, where did they come from!" Jaccs' voice could be heard over the roaring flames and screams. His body was beaten and bruised, in fact, he looked out of breath with small flickers of flames coming off his body in a weakened state. In all honestly, it looked like Riyku's Shadow Blessing. Around him were various corpses of creatures from Lycans to Boars, even Dire Wolves; however, each of them had the N shaped stigma to show that they were Neuromorphics. Not all of them had it on the forehead, but it was still somewhere on their face. Coming up behind him was his younger brother, Jin. Clutching a tonto in his hands, with bruises along his body as well. "Jaccs!" He called out.

Jaccs would turn to look back towards Jin. "Did you find, Riyku?" Jaccs inquired hastily to which Jin to shake his head which in turn caused Jaccs to kiss his teeth. "Damn it. How about the villagers, how is the escort going?" Jaccs would inquire next to which Jin would nod. "We are still trying to get most of the women and children out of the village. Mother is also aiding in their escape. The Guardian Party and Scouting Party are doing their best to fend off the Neuromorphics. What I am concerned about most is where they all came from." Jin would comment after answering his brother's question. "Agreed. There are too many. Plus it isn't just the Lycans, all of the Neuromorphics are working together right now. We need to regroup with the others as well as find Riyku. I assume Mina and Magi are doing their best to help in escorting the villagers?" Jaccs inquired as he moved past his brother to head towards the main group. Jin would follow alongside him. "Yes; however, we are unable to save everyone." To this remark, Jaccs' face turned grim. "As long as we can save those who are still alive! We need to hurry!" Jaccs shouted while kicking up the speed and Jin nodded, following beside him. "Please be safe, Riy," Jaccs stated mentally. "I hope you are safe, Riyku." Jin would comment mentally.

In the subconscious of Riyku; the child was laying in the black, although he was slumped against something. As if resting upon someone's lap. The figure was barely notable, but black hair was draped over the nude cleavage of a woman. A soft hand caressing the child's cheek. "That's right. Just relax and rest up. I'll keep you safe, my little host." The voice spoke softly, feminine charm to it. Riyku's eyes opened softly to see plush lips make their way towards him.

"What is this feeling?"

"I feel... warm."

"Who is this person?"

"Why is she trying to kiss me...?"

"Wait... Kiss? No!"

The voice echoing throughout his mind skyrocketed him awake when his mind filled with Mina, and he shot up into a sitting position rising from Lesia's lap who was a bit surprised by what just happened.

"You are awake. How are you feeling?" Lesia would inquire taking note of Riyku's sudden movements. He looked around before looking up at Lesia, in which he would place his small fingers to his lips. "Did you... try to kiss me?" Riyku asked with pink-tinted cheeks which caused Lesia to blink rapidly out of confusion. She was wondering why he had asked such a question but refrained from asking about it. "I did not, I was just brushing your hair while you slept on my lap. More importantly, are you okay? You passed out after defeating the Lycan." Lesia would point towards the Lycan which drew Riyku's attention. "Passed out?" It took a moment for him to recall what he did, but when he saw the corpse of the Lycan it came back to him. He would exhale softly. "Ah. That's right. I used Shadow's Blessing. It's a spell I recently learned from the Magi. It cloaks me in the shadow around me. The more shadow around me, the stronger I become. However, it has its drawbacks. There a time limit and once that limit has been reached; the fatigue my body goes through catches up. I normally don't pass out, but I can only assume that I did because I used Shadow Spear to make sure that Lycan was dead." Riyku would reply before turning to look back at Lesia. Silence would befall them as his mind wandered to another subject. "Hey..." He seemed anxious all of a sudden. "The others are still alive... right?" Riyku asked with tears whelming into his eyes.

It wasn't that Lesia had forgotten about them, it was more like what had just happened now had taken over her mind. With things having settled down the reality finally set in. "I am sorry... they are not..." Tears of her own whelmed into her eyes, but before they started to fall Riyku's own did and he clung to Lesia while burying his face into her stomach. The woman would sob silently alongside him holding him in comfort while trying her best to comfort him.