Hunter of the Evernight-Chapter 831: The Maelstrom’s Heart

Two weeks had passed since Commander Demetrius, along with a thousand men, was dispatched to what they had nicknamed the Maelstrom’s Heart.

Few were privy to what the Maelstrom truly was, and in truth, it was better that way, according to the few Mystics and Cryptids that were among the men sent out.

In any case, the soldiers, bored as they were at the rather mundane tasks they were given, found different ways to alleviate their boredom while attempting to keep a close eye on the Maelstrom.

One of the ways they kept watch was by measuring the size of the Maelstrom with the aid of a variety of long-range equipment.

They had tried to get closer to do so but that ended up with the unfortunate deaths of twenty good men.

Never again.

So far, they carried out the measurements every fortnight, and thanks to their ancestors, the Maelstrom had largely stayed consistent, ignoring the marginal errors made during calculations.

Tonight was yet another fortnight, and so, a group of fifty men had stepped out to handle the measurements, with forty being there for protection and general help, while the remaining ten were the ones doing the measurements.

The Maelstrom was divided into five quadrants, so they also divided into five groups, with each group being in charge of one quadrant.

Currently, the group handling the northern quadrant was hard at work, with most doing their work as instructed when one of the guards seemed to notice something moving within the Maelstrom.

At first, he thought nothing of it, thinking it to be a figment of his imagination, after all, this would not be the first time such had happened.

Many claimed that when they looked hard into the crystal clear waters, they could see past and even future events.

One had even claimed that he had seen the end of the world, going as far as to describe the rather grim scene with such accuracy that many truly believed his words.

He was later sent into rehabilitation and from then on served on the outskirts to ensure he made no further contact with the Maelstrom.

So, to avoid being seen as a madman, the guard swiftly turned away and instead focused on trying to understand what the mathematicians were up to.

Unfortunately, though he had gone through basic education, which was mandatory to become a warrior of Pellasus, Mathematics was a subject far beyond his ken.

And so, once again, he turned to face the Maelstrom, and then, he saw it yet again, and this time, it wasn’t just a passing image.

No, it was a lanky humanoid figure with no discernible features making its way through the waters... towards him.

Closing his eyes, he opened them again only to find the figure still approaching.

Then, he rubbed his eyes and this time, the figure had grown larger, seemingly adding on more flesh.

Realizing that something was wrong, he quickly called out. "There’s something!"

The others glanced at him with a few wondering what he was on about.

Christos, the captain of the quadrant, swiftly approached him. "What is it?"

"There, over there, something is coming out." The soldier said while pointing at the approaching figure.

Christos frowned as he glanced in the direction the soldier was pointing at only to discover nothing.

His frown deepened.

"It seems you are exhausted, soldier, retire to your quarters."

"But..."

"Leave now otherwise I will have you sent for rehabilitation."

The soldier trembled before quickly taking his leave.

Christos let out a sigh and was just about to leave when, suddenly, he froze while, at the same time, a squelching sound echoed, catching everyone’s attention.

They all looked at him, only to freeze, their expressions morphing into ones filled with terror as they regarded the hand made out of solid darkness which was protruding from Christos’ chest.

Christos looked down at the hand and then, a moment later coughed up a mouthful of blood, similarly stunned by the sight.

He tried to grab the hand, only for a sharp pain to surge through him, after which he was quickly engulfed by the inky blackness.

By the time the darkness receded, Christos was no more, and behind where he once stood was a man who appeared to be in his thirties.

He had raven black hair and wore a similarly colored cloak made out of bird feathers with an eye patch over his right eye.

He was accompanied by a single Crow on his left shoulder and wielded a spear that gave off a divine afterglow.

Though he seemed human, something about him seemed off, like he was different in some form they couldn’t easily make out with their eyes.

Shaking themselves out of their initial stupor, the soldiers, aware that this was why they had been stationed here, immediately grabbed their muskets and aimed at the newcomer, prepared to shoot him down should he make a move.

"Who are you?... Why did you kill Christos?"

Just then, the man Christos had sent packing exclaimed in terror. "It’s him, he’s the one I saw coming out of the Maelstrom!"

Realizing that the soldier may not have been going insane, the others quickly tried to attack, only for the newcomer to utter a single word in a completely foreign language.

Akāšu

The aether stirred and a moment later, he vanished from sight, catching the others off guard.

"Where did he go?"

"He has to be some sort of supernatural being, we have to call him..."

Before the soldier could finish speaking, a spear ran through his torso, lifting him off the ground while simultaneously ridding him of life as the black ink which had engulfed Christos, devoured him as well.

The others, panicked by the sight, pulled their triggers and shot the newcomer only for the latter to disappear once again.

"Reload!"

Alas, reloading a musket in a close-range encounter was unideal, and it wasn’t until two others were killed that the others tossed away their guns for swords. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

But even then, nothing changed and soon, only the mathematicians remained, both completely terrified as they stared at the newcomer approaching them.

Once he was at arms length from then, he asked in perfect Impala. "You will tell me everything I need to know or die."